Dean Smith says Aston Villa have prepared as normal despite reports of Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley breaking coronavirus rules; Saturday's trip to Wolves will be Villa's first game since November 30; Smith unconcerned by form despite losing four of last five
Thursday 10 December 2020 13:19, UK
Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith says the Government's coronavirus rules are confusing following a breach in protocols by Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley.
Barkley, who is on loan from Chelsea, celebrated his 27th birthday with a meal attended by the Villa captain Grealish at a restaurant in Mayfair at the weekend.
With London in Tier 2, the team-mates breached rules preventing individuals from separate households who are not in a support bubble from meeting in 'any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public space'.
The Aston Villa head coach followed up comments he made to Sky Sports on Wednesday in which he said he felt uneasy telling his players off given they eat together at the club's training ground every day.
"I think our government are confused about the messages that are going out there themselves so it makes it very difficult for everybody else as well," Smith said.
"But it is difficult times for everybody at the moment and we have to respect the rules.
"Has this week been difficult to handle? No. I spoke about it yesterday and gave my opinions. I have reminded the players about their responsibilities and we have moved on."
While Villa will be without the injured Barkley for their trip to Molineux, Grealish will be available after testing negative for coronavirus on Monday.
"We are in a fortunate position that we get tested weekly so we obviously know where we are at and when people have to isolate," Smith said.
"This is our bubble and it is something (last weekend's events) that we have moved on from. Jack (Grealish) provided a negative test on Monday so he is in the squad. Ross Barkley is still injured.
"The indiscretions - Grealish's second with the first occurring during the original national lockdown in March - have overshadowed Villa's preparations for their first game of December.
Their last match was postponed after a number of positive test results in the Newcastle camp, meaning they have not played since a controversial 2-1 defeat at West Ham on November 30.
However, Smith has moved to downplay the risk of distractions ahead of Saturday as his Villa side look to arrest a mini-slump that has seen them lose their last two matches and four of their last five.
He is also confident their performances have been better than their recent run of results have indicated.
"We played ever so well against West Ham - we thought we deserved the win. Unfortunately we got beat, there was a VAR decision that went against us," Smith said.
"Football for me is based on performances. If you perform then you have got more chances of winning. We have performed very well this season. We are not doing an awful lot wrong at the moment.
"Wolves are one of the teams that are tough to beat. You look at their last few seasons in this league and they have been probably the team that has got promoted that everybody is looking at to try and emulate."
