Dean Smith has made it clear that promotion is the objective for Aston Villa, even though he is taking over a side in the bottom half of the table.

The former Brentford boss was appointed as Steve Bruce's successor during the international break and has spent the past week working with the players ahead of tomorrow's game against Swansea.

Despite that tough start, Smith made it clear he is tasked with taking the club back to the Premier League as soon as possible when speaking to TalkSPORT.

"Promotion has to be the aim, that’s our aim from the outset. I don’t think it’s insurmountable this season."

"We’re only 12 games in, we’ve almost got a full Premier League season to work with, so there’s a lot of points to play for and we’ll certaibly be aiming to get in that mix."

Even though Villa are 15th in the table, they trail the play-offs by just six points, with a nine-point gap to second place West Brom.

The West Midlands side will be looking to close that gap when they welcome the Swans to a sold-out Villa Park on Saturday.

The Verdict

This is good from Smith as sometimes a new boss will already make excuses, saying they need time or a transfer window to get their ideas across.

Whilst that may be the case, it's clear the boyhood Villa fan is ready to make an immediate impact and that's a positive for those connected to the club.

Ultimately, Villa have a squad that is as good as any in this league and they're only four points behind the play-offs so Smith has every right to send a message like this out.

Thoughts, Villa fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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