Dean Smith says Aston Villa showed their “togetherness” in getting the better of Everton on Friday and now wants them to kick on. The Villans entered the fixture having made a bad start to life back in the Premier League following consecutive defeats to start the season, Tottenham and Bournemouth getting the better of them.
The loss to the Cherries had been particularly disappointing for Smith and co as it had been in front of their own fans, the Villa boss hitting out at the mistakes made by his side after that fixture.
However, his players produced the perfect response against Everton on Friday as they ran out 2-0 winners at a raucous Villa Park. Summer signing Wesley opened the scoring for the home side in the first half with his first goal for the club following his £22million arrival from Club Brugge.
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Smith had been forced to defend Wesley ahead of kick-off after a stuttering start to life in claret and blue but his faith was rewarded by a powerful performance from the Brazilian.
Post-match, the Villa boss said he expected Wesley to kick on after his first goal for the club, believing the early criticism of him had been unjustified. “He’s a good player, we’ve been watching him for a long time and I’m glad we’ve got him. He was a handful,” Smith told Sky Sports.
Villa had to survive a couple of scares after the break, Alex Iwobi hitting the post and Theo Walcott missing a great chance for Everton late on before Anwar El Ghazi wrapped up the points in stoppage time.
The 2-0 victory was Villa’s first in the Premier League since February 2016 having suffered a miserable campaign when finishing bottom of the table in the 2015-16 season.
The Midlands outfit have endured a tough time since being relegated from the Premier League and Smith says the win was just reward for the hard work put in since the start of last season.
The ex-Brentford boss now wants the Villans to build upon their first win as they seek to re-establish themselves in the Premier League. “We are in the Premier League after a 10-match winning run in the Championship and winning in the play-off final.
There is a togetherness with all of us and the noise is great to hear,” Smith told the BBC. “I don’t think there is any extra expectations from the supporters. We have a really good bond.”
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