Dean Smith heaped praise on captain Jack Grealish after Aston Villa destroyed lifeless Derby 4-0.
Grealish shone upon his return from a long-term injury, his comeback a timely one given Villa had recorded only two wins in 13 Championship games during his absence.
A relieved Smith paid tribute to both Grealish’s stand-out display and a blistering first-half showing from his side in which they scored four times.
The Villa manager said: “We finished comfortable winners and Jack Grealish’s goal topped the display.
“He is a top footballer and a level-headed lad which is very important. His character and attitude are also very important.
“You always know you can get this kind of performance from Grealish. He has the ability to see passes that other players do not.”
Explaining why he made Grealish captain after such a long time out, Smith said: “He has a long-term contract at the club and giving him the captaincy he can certainly grow.
“He leads by example and, knowing his character, I knew it would not be a burden. It was quite an easy decision for me to make.
“It was a proud moment for him. Like myself he is a Villa fan and to captain the team and score the goal he obtained topped his performance.”
Despite the win, Smith refused to discuss Villa’s prospects of making the play-offs, with his side now six points off the top six.
Conor Hourihane, who had one of his best games for Villa, opened the scoring after nine minutes and, with Grealish warming to his task, Tommy Abraham notched his 21st goal of the season to make it 2-0 after 37.
Hourihane and Grealish completed the scoring in the final five minutes of the first period as a below-par Derby were overrun.
This was Derby’s third successive league defeat and their hopes of returning to the play-off picture now rest upon four successive home games.
It was a limp performance lacking drive or inspiration and Derby boss Frank Lampard said: “We were poor and Villa were good. Credit to them for playing so well.
“It is a reality check so far as Derby are concerned. We have to learn from this defeat and it is something we have to address.
“There has been a negative feel as we are a club who expect a dip. The reason is that we have played a lot of games and we missed our midfield. Harry Wilson had been ill and could not start.
“As a team and squad we have to put in a better performance than we did against Villa.
“These things happen in the Championship. We have to work hard. There have been bumps in the road.
“It is not over yet. We have to be positive over the remaining 12 games.”
