Dean:We’d have wanted more experience of the Premier League but at that time we couldn’t get it...
DEAN Smith admits Villa have made mistakes in the transfer market – but he doesn’t believe they had much choice.
Owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens bankrolled a £130 million spend last summer to sign 12 new players in preparation for the club’s return to the Premier League.
Many of those have failed to perform and Villa are languishing in the relegation places with 10 games of the season remaining.
Only Tom Heaton, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett had Premier League experience prior to arriving at Villa Park in the summer of 2019 – and Smith has paid the price for that.
The club attempted to redress the balance in January by signing experienced goalkeeper Pepe Reina and Danny Drinkwater, who won the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016, but they too have fallen below expectations.
“We made a lot of changes during the summer as everybody knows,” said Smith. “You look back and you think in hindsight would we have done anything differently? We’d have probably wanted a lot more experience of the Premier League but at that time we couldn’t get it.
“It was either too expensive or unobtainable, so we did the business that we did. The players, after the novelty of the Premier League (wore off ), have found out what the Premier League is all about.
“Now, this little break can allow us to reset and know the standards physically and tactically we have to get to when we start back to play those last games.”
Lockdown has given Smith and his staff chance to reflect on the successes and failures of the season so far to ensure his players are well prepared for when the campaign resumes.
“It’s really important we can get some planning,” he added. “We’ve sat back and reviewed the season.
“We’ve been able to watch every game back. We’ve made mistakes and we’ve shown an awful lot of inconsistency in our first season back in the Premier League.
“What this has done is given us the opportunity now to make sure we’re ready for those last 10 games.”
One area of the club that has pleased Smith is the performance development department, which is headed by Jeremy Oliver.
“They’re keeping on top of the players, we’re in regular contact,’’ said the head coach. “I’m speaking to the coaching staff two, three, four times a week and to the performance department as well.
“The players are all sending in the RPEs from the work they’ve done. Some of the players have had watt bikes sent out to them, some have got treadmills, some have got skill-mills. They’ve all got gym equipment so they’re all following their individual programmes.
“To be honest, speaking to our performance department and the players, the compliance has been excellent and that’s all you can ask for at this time.”
Oliver arrived at Villa from his native Australia at the end of the 2017/18 campaign and oversees the medical and performance department. Throughout Villa’s pre-season in the US and back home, he was a prominent figure, often seen pitchside talking to the newest recruits.
Oliver is right up there with the likes of Smith, chief executive Christian Purslow and sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch in terms of prominence.
His performance team includes Aman Singh Shergill, a recent recruit from Blues, who is Villa’s physical performance scientist.
Oliver also works closely with David Stewart, head of performance analysis, and other analysts, Joseph Ure and Scott Adey-Linforth, the former joining from Tottenham in April last year.
Oliver is often beside Smith, John Terry and Richard O’Kelly during training sessions at Bodymoor Heath while, on matchdays, is sat in the stands watching from above.