LUIZ CAN TALK UP SURVIVAL

DEAN SMITH hopes word power can help Aston Villa win at Relegation Countdown – with midfielder Douglas Luiz ready to show he can be an English master.

The 22-year-old Brazilian (above, right) did not speak a word when he joined from Manchester City for £15million last summer.

But he goes into today’s game with Wolves as one of Villa’s main hopes of engineering an escape route. Smith (below) said: “He’s been absolutely brilliant since we came back and his English has made a massive difference. “It really has helped a lot, not just out on the pitch but with his ability to socialise with the other players.

“He’s passed his English exam, and it certainly helped him mix with the players a lot more. You’re always on the periphery if you don’t understand what the others are saying, and now he has a really good grasp of the language.

“He is an extremely fit lad. Some of the stuff we’ve been doing in the break he was coming out on top in everything, which just shows you his fitness levels.”

Smith added: “He needed to understand his team-mates a lot more, I don’t just mean in English, I mean the type of passes they want to receive from him. Football is about relationships on the pitch and knowing one another, their strengths and weaknesses.”

Smith knows Wolves will prove formidable opponents with former Villa man Adama Traore and 15-goal centre-forward Raul Jimenez in their ranks. But he said: “We believe we have the players who can cope.”