Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to Dean Smith’s comments regarding European qualification on social media.

Villa have enjoyed a solid season in the Premier League and have flirted with Europe on several occasions throughout the current campaign. Smith’s side currently sit in 11th place on 48 points ahead of the meeting with Manchester United this afternoon, but three points today could see them end the weekend in ninth.

It seems as if the Villa manager has his eye on bringing European football back to Villa Park, though, admitting that the club ‘need to start challenging’ for that coveted prize.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of the clash with Manchester United, Smith said:

“Qualifying for Europe is the aim for the football club. The vision of the owners is to develop players and grow the value and the brand of Aston Villa Football Club across the world. We need to start challenging.”

Villa fans react

@villareport shared those comments on social media on Twitter, which unsurprisingly received plenty of interaction from a number of Villa supporters.

Here’s what some had to say in reply, with one making reference to youngster Carney Chukwuemeka, who has recently been linked with a move away, and another labelling them as ‘exciting’.

In other news: Villa leapfrog PL rival in race to sign defender; source claims he's visited the club, find out more here.