Aston Villa continued with their preparations for the Premier League restart under the watchful eye of coach Dean Smith at their Bodymoor Training Ground on Saturday.

The relegation-threatened side will usher-in the return of the English top flight after 3 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic with a crucial clash against Sheffield United at Villa Park on Wednesday.

The rescheduled clash, which was initially supposed to be played earlier, was postponed originally due to the involvement of the claret and blue in the Carabao Cup final at the start of March against Manchester City, who are also in action on Wednesday when they host Arsenal.

Smith spoke to the media as the countdown to the Wednesday continues and highlighted how the enforced break has affected the squad.

“It’s been a testing period for both the players and the coaches, the resumption of contact training is what we wanted and the remaining 10 games are critical,” said Smith.

He also gave an injury update on Scottman John McGinn.

“John McGinn has been a big boost for us on the training ground. He’s back and played against West Brom and Leicester,” Smith said.

Aston Villa have 25 points from 28 games, four ahead of bottom-placed Norwich City.