Relegation-threatened Aston Villa must guard against complacency in the home stretch of the Premier League season after they beat Crystal Palace in their previous game, manager Dean Smith said on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Premier League – Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – June 27, 2020 Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
REUTERS: Relegation-threatened Aston Villa must guard against complacency in the home stretch of the Premier League season after they beat Crystal Palace in their previous game, manager Dean Smith said on Wednesday.
Villa, who are 19th in the standings with three games remaining, revived their survival hopes by ending a 10-match winless run on Sunday as two goals by Egyptian forward Trezeguet gave them a 2-0 win over Palace.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s trip to 11th-placed Everton, Smith said nothing had changed in their approach.
“I’m feeling the same as before the Crystal Palace game because not a lot has changed. We needed to win because the teams around us had won their games,” Smith told reporters.
“We managed to get that win and it will give everybody a lift but we’re still in the same position. We can go and get some scoreboard pressure on Watford and West Ham United, who play the following evening.
“We’ve got to make sure we concentrate on our own game and put in a good performance. We certainly won’t get complacent after one win.”
Villa could be without Kortney Hause, who has a rib injury, while fellow defender Neil Taylor is also doubtful for the game due to a hamstring issue.
Trezeguet’s double took his league tally for the season to five goals and Smith said that it had done him a world of good.
“His confidence will be high,” Smith added. “We produced some good attacking play against Palace and it was good to see. Jack Grealish looked close to being back to his best.
“He was only telling me yesterday that he’s not scored for a long time and he wants to put that right. Our forward-thinking players are starting to get back to where we want them to be.”
