Aston Villa sacks manager Dean Smith

Dean Smith has been sacked as Aston Villa's manager after a five-game losing streak.

Friday’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton proved the last act for Dean Smith, that result leaving Aston Villa with just 10 points from its opening 11 games and just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Aston Villa's Dean Smith became the third Premier League manager sacked this week as the club confirmed his departure on Sunday after a run of five successive defeats.

"Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that the club have parted company with head coach Dean Smith," Villa said in a statement two days after a 1-0 defeat at Southampton.

Smith joined Villa in 2018 after a spell in charge of Brentford where he developed a reputation for playing exciting, attacking football.

He guided Villa back to the Premier League via the playoffs in his first campaign with a club record 10-match winning run at the end of the season.

Smith, a Villa fan, then helped his team retain its top-flight status the following season after a relegation battle and came close to silverware when he guided them to the League Cup final in 2020, losing 2-1 to Manchester City.

However, after a solid opening to this season including a win at Manchester United, Villa has fallen away badly and is in 15th place in the table with 10 points from 11 matches.

"After a good start to last season, this year we have not seen the continuous improvement in results, performances and league position which we have all been looking for," Villa CEO Christian Purslow said.

"For this reason we have decided to make a change now to allow time for a new head coach to make an impact."

"When Dean joined us in October 2018 our team was really struggling in The Championship. He immediately transformed the atmosphere and performances and achieved the ultimate success of leading Villa back to the Premier League within the same season - a rare feat."

The news followed bottom club Norwich City's decision to end Daniel Farke's 1/2 year reign on Saturday hours after it beat Brentford for its first win of the season.

Earlier this week Tottenham Hotspur parted company with Nuno Espirito Santo who was in charge for only 10 league games.

Two other top-flight managers, Newcastle United's Steve Bruce and Watford's Xisco Munoz, have also lost their jobs since the start of the season.