Dean Smith excited for return of Aston Villa fans
Dean Smith admits Wednesday night’s win at Tottenham has whetted the appetite for Sunday’s return of supporters to Villa Park.
Villa won 2-1 in north London as they played in front of fans for the first time in more than 14 months.
They will now finish the season backed by 10,000 of their own supporters, while it will also be the first time last summer’s signings, including Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, have been watched by their families since joining the club.
Smith said: “It has been unfortunate that in such a good season performances like Wednesday night, Arsenal away and Liverpool at home haven’t been witnessed, not only by our fans but also the families of the players.
“Those like Ollie Watkins, his family has not yet seen him play at Villa Park or for Villa. They miss the excitement of being at those games with them as well.
“We are all excited now to get back to Villa Park and have our home fans there.”
Watkins, the club’s £28million record signing who netted his 14th Premier League goal of the season at Spurs, added: “I have been waiting all year. My family have not come to a game so I want them to see what it is all about.
“It felt much louder than 10,000 fans at Tottenham and I just can’t wait for it to be a full stadium, to be honest.”
The 25-year-old, a boyhood Arsenal fan, revealed how fans at Tottenham had given him extra motivation.
He explained: “I was getting a bit before the goal but then you go and celebrate in front of them. That’s what it is all about. It is nice when fans give you a bit of stick, it spurs you on.
“If I can get to 15 goals now in the last game that would be a good tally for the end of the season.”
