SMITH: WE BUST GUT TO SURVIVE

DEAN SMITH says the stats show Aston Villa’s players are doing everything they can to stay in the Premier League.

Villa’s boss (above, right) may not have been happy with the schedule following Project Restart, but he’s given a big thumbs-up to the effort.

Smith hit back at accusations that he was being “defeatist” by pointing out that Villa had played four games in 11 days, following their narrow 1-0 reversal against Wolves.

And he insisted that if Villa are to get anything from their trip to Anfield this afternoon, they will have to meet the champs head-on.

He said: “If you are out-worked by any of the top six, you’ll get beat, it’s as simple as that.

“Our work rate, work ethic and togetherness have to be on show.

“Of course, there can be anomalies. We ran more than Wolves during the game, but, with the way they set up, you’ve got to do that.

“They sit back and counter-attack an awful lot and are very good at it.

“But our running statistics are a lot better than before the pandemic.

“And OK, we haven’t got the points tally we feel we deserve. But we’ve played three of the top eight now and restricted them to a few chances.

“We haven’t shown enough quality in the final third. Defensively, we have been more than a match for anyone. “Out of the six teams battling to avoid the drop, there have only been two wins – both in the last minute for Brighton and West Ham.

“We more than matched West Ham in our stats against Chelsea.

“We’ve improved since the break, we just need to get points on the board.”