Profile

Dean Smith is the manager of Aston Villa, a position he took up in October 2018 after leaving his post at Brentford.

Smith started managerial life at Walsall, impressing in his time at the club. The Saddlers had looked like certainties for relegation when Smith took over the job, and he impressed everyone with the way he handled the pressure of a relegation battle. In his final season, he led the club to 8th in the table, before leaving to take over at Brentford in 2015.

He led Brentford to three top-10 Championship finishes, before orchestrating Aston Villa's return to the Premier League, where he preserved their status in 2019/20.

Managerial Career

Dean Smith Quotes

I was at Walsall for six-and-a-half years- first as head of youth and then as manager, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Brentford had to tick an awful lot of boxes for me to even consider it. But the lure of coming and having the chance to manage in the Championship, and hopefully the Premier League, was too big to turn down

I always said it was an improbable dream getting Walsall to the Championship because only a few other managers have done it. The impossible dream was getting to the Premier League. But Brentford is a club where it is possible to get to the Premier League.