Smith: John will be very good coach
NEW boss Dean Smith insists there is absolutely no negativity towards John Terry’s involvement.
Many were surprised to see last season’s Villa skipper return as No.2 when Smith was appointed as Steve Bruce’s replacement.
Smith’s response was simple – ‘we will help each other’ – as he discussed how the backroom team, which includes Richard O’Kelly, was put together.
“I have no doubt in my mind that John will be a very good coach and will probably go on to be a fantastic manager as well,’’ he said.
“He’s well aware this is now his apprenticeship into coaching. He’s going to get the hours in with us.
“I’m quite flattered he’s chosen to work with us. Me and John spoke about it and decided it was right.
“It lasted for about an hour on FaceTime. He was warming up for a pro-am golf event and probably wanted it to be a bit quicker! But, to be fair, we both had good questions we needed to ask each other.”
Smith respects Terry and the former Villa captain respects his new boss. “I always spoke to John before and after the games I came up against him and he has always been very complimentary about our style of play,’’ said the boss.
“As for the negativity, I haven’t seen any of that. If I can tap into the knowledge John has had from his career and from the coaches he’s worked with, to go along with the experience and knowledge of Richard, I think it will be great.
“If we’re all successful then I’m sure there will be people knocking on the door to take him in future. He’ll be the first to admit he was nervous for his first morning. You’re going in front of people who you were once in the dressing room with, having banter with, and getting involved in coaching them and trying to improve them.
“He’s got parts of that already: we’ve seen that over the years as captain of his country, of one of the top teams in the country.”