Nick D
New Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has thrown the gauntlet down for his players to step up and take responsibility in future matches.
Smith joined the club last month from Brentford following the sacking of Steve Bruce, but the results have been inconsistent for the new coach since taking charge.
Despite a victory over Swansea, the Villains have struggled in recent games and will be hoping to bounce back against the out-of-form Bolton Wanderers this weekend.
However, Smith sees the positives in the squad and has asked them to take responsibility for their own performances in games.
”We did a debrief on Monday and spoke about some things we can do better but we also spoke about the positives,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“The players are really receptive, get involved in discussion. I’ve said before I want them to take responsibility and become responsible and some of the points they brought forward were really good and will help us as a group moving forward.
“On the training ground it has been very good. They are a good group who want to get better.”
Smith will be hoping that performances on the training game can translate into performances on the pitch this weekend, as the Trotters travel to Villa Park on Saturday for a late 7:45pm kick off.