After a season where Villa was close to getting relegated, manager Dean Smith hopes that new players and experience in the league will help them perform better this season. He is also hoping to lift a trophy with the club and has pledged to go all-out to try and win the Carabao Cup.
Dean Smith said “It’s something Aston Villa have got a great tradition in and we’ll look to continue that. We’re looking forward to it. It’s been a short break, obviously, after Project Restart. We’ve had an enforced break with our Manchester City fixture postponed until a later date. As I’ve said many times before it’s a competition we take seriously. We got to the final last season and got beat narrowly by Manchester City. It’s something Aston Villa have got a great tradition in and we’ll look to continue that. We’ve had some pre-season games that have got us ready for it. We’ve played Arsenal, Wycombe, Bristol City and Manchester United. It’s an important game because it’s our first game and it’s important we get off to a really positive start and a good performance to take into the Sheffield United game. It’s a big challenge (vs Burton). They’ve done well to get through the early round and have played more competitive games than we have by the time we play them. It’s in front of the cameras live on Sky, we’re all looking forward to it. Jake Buxton has gone in there and he’ll have ambitions of having his first cup upset. Hopefully, we can put in a really professional performance and put a stop to that.”
