9Dean Smith confirmed as joining English Premier League strugglers Norwich City as the club’s new manager.
Dean Smith Confirmed to Take Charge of First Match After International Break
Norwich Make Swift Appointment to Preserve Premier League Status
Norwich City have moved quickly to secure the services of former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith on a two-and-a-half-year deal as their permanent manager to try and keep the side in the Premier League.
The Canaries parted ways with German manager Daniel Farke after a terrible start to life in the Premier League that has seen them pick up only one win and five points in 11 matches since regaining promotion to the top flight. The German manager was surprisingly sacked after leading the Canaries to a first win of the season against high-flying Brentford.
Dean Smith himself was out of a job after he was let go by Aston Villa following a run of five consecutive losses that has seen Aston Villa reach as low as 16th in the Premier League despite spending heavily in the summer. He was sacked on the same weekend as Daniel Farke, coincidentally.
Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was one of the frontrunners for the manager’s job at Carrow Road before he decided against joining the side for reasons best known to him.
Dean Smith led Aston Villa to a miraculous escape from relegation in his first season in the Premier League, the 2019/20 season, and will be required to bring that same level of performance to a Norwich side that only picked up their first win of the season on Matchday 11.
Dean Smith will be joined by his assistant Craig Shakespeare at Carrow Road, and he has stated his delight at securing the Norwich City job to the club’s official website;
“From the age of 16 I’ve been working in football. I think in that time I’ve had four months out and didn’t enjoy it. It’s great to get straight back in with a club that are determined to be progressive. I’ve always worked to improve and develop players – with that obviously comes improved performances. I was really impressed with the idea, structure and vision that is already in place at the club.”
The Englishman is aware of the task ahead of him, which is to keep Norwich City in the Premier League. He led Aston Villa to the final of the Carabao Cup in his first season in the Premier League and has spoken of his quick return to the dugout;
“It has been a whirlwind seven days, but I’m really pleased to be back and working for Norwich City in the Premier League. Clearly, there has been some wonderful work that has gone into this football club over last four and a half years. It is now the job of myself and Craig to continue and improve on that work with the ultimate aim of surviving in the Premier League.”
Smith’s first game will be against a Southampton side that defeated his Aston Villa side in his last game in charge of the club. Norwich are only five points from safety with 27 matches left to play in the season.
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