Aston Villa took all three points from their Friday night encounter with Bolton at Villa Park.

Goals from Jack Grealish and defender James Chester ensured the home side ran out 2-0 winners against the Trotters, and manager Dean Smith will have been delighted with certain aspects of the performance from his new team.

One of the key performers last night and someone who is going to be important going forward is midfielder Grealish, who got himself on the scoresheet and delivered a positive display on the whole last night.

And Grealish was quick to praise his manager following the game, crediting Smith with helping certain aspects of his game.

“I am loving working with him. It’s obviously nice for me as well because he’s an Aston Villa fan. His whole family are Aston Villa supporters just like mine. We get on well.  Grealish told Villa's official website.

“It’s really good. He’s very good – and he also has two great coaches in Richard and JT alongside him.  All the boys are enjoying it and I think you can see that from the way we played against Bolton. We obviously beat Swansea in his first game but even against Norwich and QPR, I thought we should have got more."

The win for Villa meant they climbed into mid-table and within only a couple of wins of mounting a charge for the top six.

Grealish will no doubt be a key figure for the Villans going forward, and his willingness to learn and improve under Smith is a positive sign for all concerned with the club as the Championship heads into the busy and important winter period.

Villa fans, what have you made of Grealish so far? Can he improve further under Smith? Let us know in the comments!