Dean Smith wants to end long trophy wait for Aston Villa
Dean Smith has challenged Villa to end ‘24 years of hurt’ ahead of tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Leicester.
Villa travel to the King Power Stadium aiming to take another step toward a third trip to Wembley in as many seasons and the possibility of a first major trophy since lifting the League Cup in 1996.
It is the longest period in the club’s history without winning a major honour and Smith, a lifelong Villa supporter, will remind his players opportunities such as this do not come around too often.
“Our job is to create history,” he said. “We did that by winning the play-offs in May. That’s what our role is now, to create a new history for Aston Villa.
“At the moment, the Premier League is a tough battle, but we believe we’ve got enough to come through that, and there is an opportunity now to win a cup semi-final and get through to a final.”
