Villa add to old boss Smith’s virus worries
DEAN SMITH revealed Norwich’s fixture against West Ham on Saturday is in doubt due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation at the struggling club.
The Canaries were beaten at home by Aston Villa, who sacked Smith last month, but their manager’s thoughts turned immediately to their next match after goals from Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins sealed a fourth win in six for Steven Gerrard since he took over from Smith.
Smith revealed his club had asked the Premier League for ‘guidance’ ahead of last night’s game and could not confirm whether the West Ham fixture could go ahead.
He also called on the League to issue clear guidelines on the circumstances under which a game should be postponed, after Tottenham and Manchester United were among the clubs to have games called off this month.
‘I will find out over the next 48 hours about the West Ham game,’ said 50-year-old Smith. ‘I have seen the new Premier League protocols about extra testing and it is the right move.
‘I have had my booster jab but not everyone will have and the Omicron variant is very worrying for all. Hopefully we can get through it.
‘We need to be given a magic number for how many players need to be unavailable for a game to be postponed. What we don’t want is to take risks of going into games where there’s the opportunity of it being passed around.
‘We had some symptomatic players who had to pull out of this game. I’m glad I didn’t have to name the team on Monday.
‘We played Tottenham and Manchester United in our last two games and they both had outbreaks. We’ve had to speak to the Premier League on advice on where to go, not that they’ve done a lot.’
Ozan Kabak, who produced a timely clearance from Ashley Young in the first half, was forced off at the interval but it did allow Sam Byram to make his first appearance in 22 months.
Villa have been dealing with their own Covid cases, with Gerrard confirming ‘a couple’ of absentees due to coronavirus prior to this game.
‘The week has been challenging with losing staff members and players, and having to cancel a recovery session on Sunday,’ he admitted.
Happily for Gerrard, Villa were able to push on despite their difficulties and they are now ninth in the Premier League table.
Ramsey’s eye-catching firsthalf strike, a long run and shot that went in via a deflection, put them in front before another academy product, substitute Carney Chukwuemeka, laid the second on a plate for Watkins three minutes from time.
Norwich have managed only eight goals all season and Kenny McLean missed a glorious chance to equalise early in the second half after Young’s awful backpass.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn was outstanding again for Villa, whose only defeats since Gerrard took control have been to Manchester City and Liverpool.
The one note of disappointment for Villa was that midfielder Marvelous Nakamba may require an operation on a knee injury sustained in the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday, which will keep him out for at least two months.
Gerrard said: ‘We’re very pleased with the points total since we came in. We ran City and Liverpool close, now we focus on Burnley at the weekend at home. We keep striving to be better and push ourselves as far as we can.
‘We believe the spirit will continue to grow and there is total buy-in from every player. Across the six games I cannot ask for any more in terms of effort.
‘There has not been much training time and we have been challenged with the ongoing Covid situation. We want to keep pushing the players. We believed they were in a false position when we took over, but we had to prove it. I was aware of Jacob Ramsey from afar and he is an outstanding talent. I will keep pushing him and if he continues to play like that it will be very exciting for Villa fans.’
NORWICH (4-2-3-1): Krul 6.5; Aarons 5.5, Kabak 6 (Byram 46min, 6), Gibson 6, Williams 6; Gilmour 6.5, Sorensen 6; Placheta 6.5 (Dowell 75, 6), McLean 6, Cantwell 5.5 (Idah 61, 6); Pukki 6. Booked: Aarons, Byram, Williams. Manager: Dean Smith 6. ASTON VILLA (4-3-2-1): Martinez 7; Cash 7, Konsa 6.5, Mings 6.5, Targett 6.5; McGINN 7.5 (Tuanzebe 88), Luiz 7, J Ramsey 7; Buendia 6.5 (Chukwuemeka 83), Watkins 7, Young 7 (Ings 60, 6). Scorers: J Ramsey 34, Watkins 87. Booked: Konsa. Manager: Steven Gerrard 7. Referee: David Coote 6. Attendance: 26,836.