When in Rome... meet a Villa fan
DEAN SMITH took a trip during his week off — and sought help for Aston Villa’s plight in divine intervention.
Villa’s boss whisked his wife away on a romantic trip to Rome as he made the most of a break in the fixtures.
And he headed for the Italian capital, stopping off at the Vatican, to see if he could enlist assistance from a higher power.
Unfortunately, his efforts came to nothing.
He said: “We walked 28 miles around that city, and we did the lot – the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps... you name it, we did it.
“The missus tossed a coin into the fountain, I didn’t, but I can say I’ve done Rome now.
“And we went to the Vatican. I believe the Pope was in residence but I didn’t get to see him. One thing I did see, though, was a Villa fan who asked for a picture. I ended up having my photo taken with him in the Vatican, which was quite bizarre.”
Newly-promoted Villa faced Spurs on the opening day and sprang a shock when John McGinn gave them an early lead but fell away in the second-half, losing 3-1.
Smith was unhappy with the outcome but now says his side is in a totally different place. “I knew it would be a tough season,” he said. “You want to be a team like Sheffield United are, but that has been three years of growth of the squad and playing together.
“Back in August, I wasn’t sure what I would get from my own team and how we would deal with that.
“Now, I can see they are more relaxed in possession. I can see the green shoots.”