Dean Smith: I'll always be an Aston Villa fan

The 50-year-old faces the club he has supported since childhood for the first time since being sacked as head coach last month.

But Smith, who took charge at Norwich barely a week after his Villa Park exit, insists he has already moved on.

“It’s the next game to be honest,” he said. “I was manager there a month ago and somebody made a decision where I’m not the manager any more. I’m not in control of that so I move on very quickly.

“I’m enjoying life at Norwich and it just so happens to be Aston Villa tomorrow. If it was Manchester City or Liverpool, it’s the same. I’ve got to get three points. I made a statement when I left that football club and I stand by every word of it. They’ve moved on and I’ve moved on.”

He added: “I’ll always be a Villa fan. I was quite proud of the fact my boy came back from America and he wanted to go to watch Liverpool-Villa rather than Norwich-Manchester United. All our family are Villa fans, but I know he’ll be at the game tomorrow night and he’ll be supporting Norwich.”

Tonight is the seventh time Smith has faced Villa as an opposing manager. The previous six all came when he was in charge of Brentford and he boasts an unbeaten record.

He hopes his inside knowledge of the Villa squad can help, explaining: “There’s an advantage obviously that I know the strengths and weaknesses of all the players because I brought the majority of them in. But they also know what I’m about as well so they’ll know what I’ll be looking to do too.”

Defender Grant Hanley is a doubt for the Canaries.