Dean Smith has shared what Aston Villa’s owners messaged him after the club qualified for the Champions League.

Aston Villa will be back amongst Europe’s elite next season after an exceptional campaign under Unai Emery.

The Spaniard guided the Villains to a fourth-place finish which will see the club return to the Champions League for the first time since 1982/83.

Villa’s journey has been quite remarkable after they only earned promotion back to the Premier League in 2019.

The man who guided them back to the top table in English football was Dean Smith, a boyhood Villa fan.

And while Villa have come a long way under Emery over the past 18 months, the club’s owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, clearly haven’t forgotten Smith’s role in their success.

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What Villa’s owners messaged Smith

Speaking to The Times, Smith revealed that he messaged Villa’s owners and Emery after the club secured Champions League qualification last season. 

“I’ve messaged both the owners [Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens] and they came back and said, ‘The process started with you’ which they didn’t have to say,” the former Villa boss said.

“I messaged Unai Emery as well. I’m really pleased for everyone there. It’s a big club and I still support them.

“The owners had a five-year plan to get to the Champions League and this is their fifth year, so they’ve done what it said on the tin. And I’m looking forward to watching them over the next five years.

“I’m really chuffed for Ollie Watkins because he’s a good lad as well as being a really good footballer. I still keep in touch with him and am gutted he didn’t get his 20th goal of the season but he’ll continue to impress Gareth Southgate in England training and get minutes at the Euros.”

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Smith’s record as Villa boss

Smith was replaced by Steven Gerrard back in November 2021 after a difficult start to the 2020-21 campaign.

Villa were sat in 17th at the time but Gerrard left them in an identical position after he was dismissed just a year later.

The Villains have certainly landed on the right man in Emery but Smith’s role in their return to the top end of English football can’t be understated.

The Englishman secured a return to England’s top flight with a 2-1 play-off final win over Derby five years ago. He kept them out of trouble the following season before delivering an 11th-place finish the year after.

• 138 games played
• 56 wins
• 27 draws
• 55 losses
• 217 goals for
• 198 goals against