Dean Smith can keep Villa in the top-flight

On Monday, Aston Villa sealed promotion to the Premier League courtesy of a 2-1 Championship final play-off win over Derby County. The Villans are regarded by some of as one of the best clubs in the English game.

There is little doubt that a club the size of Villa should be plying their trade in the top-flight once again. The Midlands side has now earned that right.

Dean Smith has done an excellent job

For years Dean Smith did a stellar job in the Midlands with Walsall and before his move south to Brentford. The 48-year-old gained a reputation as one of the most tactically astute young coaches in the British game. He became known for building teams that play good football on small budgets.

With the dearth of talented British coaches at the top-level, it was only a matter of time before Smith had a chance to prove his mettle in the English top-flight. His arrival in October at Villa was pivotal in the team’s promotion.

What makes it an even better story is that Smith is a local lad and his dad worked as a steward at Villa Park. Sadly, the Villa bosses’ dad now suffers from dementia, which meant he may well have been unaware of his sons achievable on Monday. If he was, then I am sure he would have been mighty proud of his son and his team.

Not only is Smith an excellent coach, but he also comes across as highly affable. Hopefully, he can help his team excel in the English top-flight.

Villa need to improve their squad

The Aston Villa squad that achieved promotion have been good enough to win the play-offs, but the Villans will need to heavily strengthen ahead of their return to the English top-flight.

For example, a key player in the promotion push was on-loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham. The highly-rated youngster scored a creditable 26 goals in 39 Championship appearances for the Villans.

The 21-year-old will return to his parent club and hope to challenge for regular action in the new campaign. The fact that the Blues are facing a transfer ban may just give him a first-team opportunity next season.

The youngster’s goals will be hard to replace. Prolific forwards are hard to find in the modern game, so that will be one of the Villans biggest summer priorities. There are talented players at the club like John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi, who both scored in the play-off final win over Derby, as well as attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

However, there are also a lot of Championship standard players in the Villa squad, who may struggle to cope with the step-up in standard to the Premier League. I am sure the club’s owners will be ready to back Dean Smith in the transfer market this summer to improve their squad.

Smith has the ability to help Villa survive next season

As is now the custom for most teams promoted to the Premier League, Aston Villa will start the new season as one of the favourites to suffer relegation. Villa are odds of 5/2 to head straight back to the Championship. In fact, the Villans are fifth favourites for the drop next season.

I have to say I have been impressed with Dean Smith from what I saw and heard of him. The 48-year-old really seems to know the game. Just like for players, the step-up for bosses to the Premier League can be a giant leap.

However, Smith has shown his managerial acumen throughout his career so far. I am highly confident that he has enough about him to ensure that Villa are playing top-flight football beyond next season.

Can Aston Villa beat the drop from the Premier League next season?