Journalist Luke Hatfield has claimed that Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is capable of helping the club achieve their lofty ambitions.

What's the latest news involving Dean Smith?

Villa have had an inconsistent start to the campaign, picking up seven points from their opening five games, although none of these points have come on their travels.

After disappointing defeats to Watford and Chelsea, it was reported that Smith faces a battle to save his job as the club's owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris want to see a significant improvement on last season's 11th place finish.

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What has Hatfield said about Smith?

Despite rumours suggesting that Smith's days at Villa Park may be numbered, Hatfield has been impressed by the job that the 50-year-old has done since taking over from Steve Bruce, and feels that he can fulfill the owners' dream of taking Villa into Europe in the future if he is given time.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Hatfield said: “I think he’s shown the owners ever since coming in that he’s a manager who’s not only growing alongside the club, but is capable of really pushing on and helping Villa become that team that they want them to be, challenging for European football and coming up against the big boys, and not setting up a low block and hoping to get a result, actively trying to play their way through teams.

“I think he’s shown with what he’s done already, the way he came in with Villa bang-in mid-table in the Championship. They went on a historic run in that Championship promotion season, winning the play-off final, which is something that Steve Bruce couldn’t quite manage the season prior, and then it’s been nothing but improvement really from Dean Smith.”

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Does Smith deserve the chance to try to take Villa into Europe?

Hatfield is right when he says that Villa have progressed well under Smith. Having been promoted in 2019, he kept them up in their first year back in the Premier League and then led them to a mid-table finish last term. Now, it's about whether they can take that next step. 

Villa spent big in the summer, bringing in Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings, but they also lost their captain and best player Jack Grealish to Manchester City.

Therefore, it is no surprise that things aren't clicking straight away this season as the new recruits look to find their feet at Villa.

However, the past week has been a largely positive one for the side, with Smith's men easing to a 3-0 win over Everton in the league before pushing Chelsea all the way to penalties in the Carabao Cup.

These kind of performances indicate that Villa are moving in the right direction, and that Smith deserves the opportunity to build a side over the coming months that is capable of pushing for a European place come the end of the season.