Darren Eadie believes John Terry returning to Aston Villa to work alongside manager Dean Smith was a “great appointment” and says it’s “good to have” the former Chelsea and England centre-back “on the sidelines and in the dressing room”.

Terry joined Villa on a free transfer from Chelsea in 2017 and went on to make 36 appearances in all competitions as the Midlands outfit reached the Championship playoff final. He left the club over the summer and retired from playing football, only to return to Villa in a coaching capacity.

He’ll be a coach to Smith and has already been tasked with scouting future opponents. Eadie believes Villa were very clever to get Terry back at the club, as his experience from playing over 700 games for Chelsea and winning every trophy possible will only be of a benefit to the players.

As per Birmingham Live, Eadies said: “I think it’s a great appointment, looking at what John Terry has done in his career. Dean Smith is probably dealing with a brand of player that he’s probably not dealt with before whereas John Terry knows them inside out.

“It’s good to have him on the sidelines and in that dressing room to get that immediate respect and reaction from the players that Dean Smith possibly wouldn’t be able to get because of their different pathways.”

Villa haven’t had the best start to the season, however, with the club finding themselves 16th in the Championship table. Steve Bruce was replaced by smith only recently after the club’s poor run of form, and they’ve now only managed one win in six after losing to Norwich City on Tuesday night.

Stats from Transfermarkt.