Dean Smith is keen for Aston Villa reaction
Dean Smith wants Villa’s players to use the pain of their current losing run as motivation when they face West Ham this weekend.
Villa will host the in-form Hammers on Sunday aiming to halt a run of three straight defeats which has seen them tumble into the bottom half of the Premier League.
Their last two losses have been particularly concerning, with a late capitulation against Wolves followed up by a first-half no show in Friday’s 3-1 reverse at Arsenal.
Smith said: “It hurts losing three games on the spin. It hurts losing one game in this league.
“We had the bizarre situation of five minutes against Wolves when we were comfortable and followed it up on Friday.
“It hurts and I hope it hurts the players. I spoke in the dressing room at length after the game and hopefully we get the reaction and get back to winning ways against West Ham.”
Villa are aiming to challenge in the top half of the league this season but the sudden slump has left them with ground to make up. Smith’s men currently sit four points adrift of the top-10.
