Dean Smith: Aston Villa season will not fizzle out

A run of one win in six matches has seen Villa lose ground on their rivals in the race for European football.

But with 11 games still to play and skipper Jack Grealish nearing a return from the shin injury which has kept him out of the last five games, Smith believes his team can rediscover their rhythm.

Villa’s next match is against Tottenham on Sunday and Smith said: “I don’t believe it will (peter out). We still have just under a third of the season to go.

"We have 11 games, a lot of points to play for. Our first 11 games of the season were very good and we have to make sure our last 11 is very good now. We have players coming back, which you need. You need freshness in the squad. We certainly have that coming back, which will help.”

Villa have struggled for consistency since the Covid-19 outbreak which closed Bodymoor Heath for nearly a fortnight in January.

While generally strong defensively, they have struggled in attack without Grealish, scoring just three goals in his absence.

Smith does not believe Villa are the only Premier League team currently failing to fire. He continued: “I think it is happening across the league. I don’t think it is just us.

“We are certainly trying to create opportunities and that has been my biggest bugbear, probably since the Covid outbreak we have not created as much as we should do.

“It is something we are trying to get back. I certainly can’t fault the will to win and being hard to beat mentality. But in general I think there is a sloppiness around the league.”