TAMMY GIVES SMITH FLYER

Holte singing my name? Yes, a great touch.

“We want the fans turning up in big numbers like that.

“I think it was one of the biggest crowds of the day, including the Premier League.

“It shows what can happen at this club if we can get it right.

“When I was watching Villa from the Holte End it was terracing up there, not seats, and I took a moment to look up there.

“I caught the eye of my missus as well so she’ll be happy.” Villa had won only once in 10 games before this, which cost Steve Bruce his job.

An eighth-minute header from Tammy Abraham gave Smith his ideal start – but in the end Villa were fighting off a Swansea revival.

An outstanding save by Kristoffer Nordfeldt stopped Abraham getting a second in the second half that would have killed off the Swans.

“Abraham knows he should have been going off with the match ball after a hat-trick,” said Smith. Yet in the end it was the keeper the new boss inherited from Bruce, Norwegian Orjan Nyland, who stopped Swansea ruining Smith’s day.

Nyland, brought to Villa from the German second division by Bruce two months ago for £3million, has been derided. But not yesterday. His saves from Jay Fulton, twice, Connor Roberts and two in the final minutes from Mike van der Hoorn and Bersant Celina defied Swansea’s come back.

“They were good saves,” said Swansea boss Graham Potter.

“Villa were the better team in the first half.

“It was a day of emotion for a big club, but maybe we deserved a point in the second half.”