Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has insisted he is “fine” and not worried about his place after the club’s four-match losing streak.
Villa were beaten 4-1 by West Ham in their last game, losing four in a row in the league and are lined up to visit. Southampton in the Premier League football game this Friday.
“I think the view from outside the club is always different,” Smith said of the latter’s position, which has been linked with potential relegation.
“If you ask me if I slept well? I sleep well I can still play golf well. My wife still talks to me. Is that the answer to your question? Let’s just say I’m fine.”
“There were no signs of anxiety. We are in control of the situation and are determined to do things right. There is a response from all the players because they are disappointed with the result.
Dean Smith has insisted he is “fine” and not worried about his place
Despite the 4-1 home loss to West Ham last weekend, Smith felt he got a response from his players following that dire first-half display at the Emirates Stadium and the 50-year-old was in bullish mood ahead of the trip to St Mary’s.
“I think the perception from outside of the football club is always different,” said Smith.
“If you’re asking me if I sleep well, yes, I sleep well. I still play well at golf. My wife is still talking to me so, if that answers your question, then yeah, I feel fine.
“There is no panic, we’re in control and determined to put things right. There has been a reaction from all the players because they are disappointed with the results.
“We are not far from turning it around and we are in a determined mood, that’s for sure. There is a collective responsibility and the players have been working hard.
“We are in a high-performing elite sport and within those games there have been marginal moments which transpired. We’ve made some small mistakes in games that have cost us, we were missing five players for the West Ham game.
“I’m fortunate that I can take things with a lot more context than other people because I see what happens on the training ground every day. I get the physical output data, I see the mental side of the players.