Dean Smith has signed a new four-year contract at Aston Villa which will see him through until 2023 at Villa Park.
From the Holte End to the Villa Park dugout, Dean Smith has reestablished a connection between fans and club. Sweeping the steps of the home he calls his own, the cobwebs of past regimes and a decade of negligence is behind a Villa hierarchy eager to reward their successful head coach.
Promotion reward
After sealing promotion back to the Premier League with his boyhood club last May, Villa have rewarded Smith with a new long term contract.
The Midlands club have started life back in the top flight with four wins and two draws, as they find themselves three points off the top half in what has proven to be a competitive league.
Having managed 37 games since beating Swansea City at the beginning of his reign, Smith currently holds the highest win percentage of any other Villa manage before him at 50%.
Smith's delight
The Villa boss told the clubs YouTube channel: "I’m really happy to have committed my long term future to the Club. I’m looking forward to all the challenges that come with re-establishing Aston Villa as a top Premier League club."
Club CEO Christian Purslow also told the channel: "The Board is delighted that Dean has signed a new four-year contract which puts him at the heart of the Club’s long term rebuilding plans."
Smith, along with Purslow and Jesus Pitarch spent £130 million in a summer rebuild before embarking on their top flight return in August. Tyrone Mings and Wesley were both recruited at £22 million, with performance-related add-ons setting club record fees.
Fellow boyhood fan Jack Grealish was made captain after James Chester required surgery on his knee earlier in Villa's promotion campaign. Grealish and Smith formed a relationship so instrumental off the field, Villa made history by setting a club record, ten-match winning run on their way to Play-Off success.