DEAN LOVES A WILD LIFE
Smith back as Norwich boss
DEAN SMITH hates being out of work – so has jumped out of the frying pan and into the wildfire of Norwich’s relegation battle.
Just seven days after he was sacked by Aston Villa, Smith, 50, signed a two-and-a-half year deal as head coach at Carrow Road.
As he absorbed a “whirlwind” week, Smith said: “From the age of 16 I’ve been working in football. In that time I’ve had four months out and didn’t enjoy it.
“It’s great to get straight back in with a club that are determined to be progressive.”
Daniel Farke was fired after presiding over Norwich’s first Premier League win in 21 attempts at Brentford, but Smith takes over with the Canaries five points adrift of the safety line.
His first game in charge will be at home to Southampton, the same opponents as his final game at Villa, where the axe fell after five consecutive defeats.
Smith, who is joined in Alan Partridge’s heartland by assistant Craig Shakespeare, above, steered Villa to safety in 2019-20 by taking eight points from their last four games. He is confident Norwich have enough scope to haul themselves above the dotted line.
He said: “It has been a whirlwind seven days, but I’m pleased to be working for Norwich in the Premier League. Clearly, some wonderful work has gone into this club over the last four and a half years.
“It is now the job of myself and Craig to continue and improve on that work with the aim of surviving in the Premier League.
“Norwich is a big club. I was brought up in an era when Norwich were competing in Europe.
“Whenever I’ve visited Carrow Road, you can sense the connection between the fans, staff and players. We all have to make Carrow Road a tough place for visiting teams. “I’ve always worked to improve and develop players. I was impressed with the idea, structure and vision at the club.”
The search for Farke’s successor became a onehorse race when former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard withdrew from the process. Sporting director Stuart Webber said Smith’s track record made him the right man for the job and he had been a “long-term target”.
Webber said: “I have admired Dean’s work for some time. He has an outstanding track record and as soon as he made it clear he was ready to go straight back into a managerial role, we contacted him.
“He shares the same values and vision as the club, has a proven track record of winning Premier League games as well as developing players and building a winning culture.”