Aston Villa's Neil Taylor returned to the starting XI for their game against his former side, Swansea City, and new boss Dean Smith got off to the perfect start with a 1-0 win at Villa Park.

Speaking to the club's official website, Taylor admitted that the arrival of Smith and his management team were 'a breath of fresh air'.

'They have been a breath of fresh air and I am sure the more time we spend on the training pitch, we will only get better.

'The sessions have been really good. I’ve obviously played under a number of managers in my career, being a bit older. But his sessions are good and his ideas are good.'

Taylor has struggled for consistent game time in recent years and has only made a total of 48 appearances for the club since his arrival in January 2017.

But he is looking forward to working under new Villa boss, Dean Smith, who took charge of the club over the international break.

'Everyone needs to be ready. Everyone has been training brilliantly. Everyone will be involved. It’s going to take everybody – everybody needs to pull together, the whole football club. That’s what it’s going to take to move up the league.

'It’s a fresh start for everyone and the manager has said that himself.'

Smith will be looking to pick up his first away points as Villa manager as his side travel to in-form Norwich City in what will be a fiercely contested match at Carrow Road tonight.

The Verdict: 

Taylor will be confident that he can nail down a place in the starting XI for Dean Smith's Villa side this season, and having only made three starts this season before their game against Swansea, the Welsh full-back certainly has a point to prove.

He will be hoping that he can recapture the form that saw him called up to the Wales squad whilst at Swansea, and I certainly believe he can earn a recall to the national side, providing he has regular playing time at Villa this season.