Aston Villa boss Dean Smith was full of praise for his team after they ran out 3-0 winners away to Tony Pulis’ Middlesbrough yesterday evening.
The Villains goalkeeper and defence came in for heavy criticism during the week after they drew 5-5 at home to Nottingham Forest, so Smith was delighted with his side’s impressive performance at the Riverside.
“Wednesday was a freak game. There were question marks raised about the defence and the goalkeeper, but that’s four clean sheets in eight games,” Smith told Sky Sports.
“We know we’ve got goals within our team, but they worked very hard today and deserved that win.
“We had a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They’re good players, I said that when I came in and now they have that bit of confidence.”