Aston Villa appoint former Brentford manager Dean Smith
Aston Villa name former Brentford manager Dean Smith as their new head coach following the departure of Steve Bruce.
Smith leaves the Bees with an exemplary record, guiding the club to a top-ten finish in the Championship in each of his three seasons at Griffin Park.
The 47-year-old takes over from former manager Bruce, who was sacked after a run of one win in nine league games despite leading the Villans to last season’s play-off final.
Smith is a lifelong Villa fan himself and joins the club from a team three points and eight places above them in the table.
The new head coach’s first game in charge will be against Swansea City on 20 October and he’ll hope to kick off his tenure with a win to kickstart this year’s promotion push.
Featured photograph/Oli Stein