Aston Villa and coach Dean Smith part company after five consecutive Premier League losses

Villans pull trigger with the club close to the drop zone

Aston Villa have separated with head coach Dean Smith after a run of five straight losses, the Premier League club confirmed on Sunday.

The 50-year-old childhood Villans supporter was appointed back in October 2018 and led the Birmingham-based outfit to promotion from the Championship and back to the top-flight with a club-record 10-match winning run that season.

Smith then kept Villa in the Premier League the following season and led the team to the Carabao Cup final at Wembley which was lost to Manchester City.

"When Dean joined us in October 2018 our team was really struggling in The Championship," said CEO Christian Purslow in an official statement. "He immediately transformed the atmosphere and performances and achieved the ultimate success of leading Villa back to the Premier League within the same season -- a rare feat.

"He then secured our place in the Premier League after a tough campaign and took us to a Cup Final at Wembley. However, after a good start to last season, this year we have not seen the continuous improvement in results, performances, and league position which we have all been looking for.

"For this reason, we have decided to make a change now to allow time for a new head coach to make an impact."

Purslow went on to put on record Villa's thanks for Smith's service and conduct, paying tribute to the departing boss after losses to Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal, West Ham United and Southampton put paid to his time with the club.

"The Board would like to sincerely thank Dean for his many excellent achievements, on and off the pitch, during this time," he added. "Everyone knows how much Aston Villa means to Dean and his family. He has represented the Club with distinction and dignity -- universally liked and respected by everybody associated with Aston Villa -- our staff, players, and supporters alike. We wish him the very best."

The statement also confirmed that the process of identifying a replacement for Smith will now begin and that Villa will update the supporters as soon as there are developments with Paulo Fonseca one of the names linked with the Villa Park post of late.

Villa went through a tumultuous summer with star man Jack Grealish leaving for Manchester City and key backroom staff members John Terry and Richard O'Kelly also moving on which destabilized a team which had looked capable of qualifying for Europe before ultimately finishing 11th.