A week after being fired by Aston Villa, Dean Smith was appointed Norwich City's new permanent manager after Frank Lampard took the decision to pull out of talks over the role last week.
The Canaries have moved quickly to draft in a replacement for Daniel Farke, who was sacked before the international break with his side bottom in the Premier League table (1-8-2, 5 points).
Smith has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Canaries, and supporters will hope that his experience in the Premier League can help the team claw their way to safety after a disastrous start to the season.
Smith expressed his delight after being unveiled at Carrow Road on Monday, telling Norwich's official website: "It has been a whirlwind seven days, but I’m really pleased to be back and working for Norwich City in the Premier League.
"Clearly, there has been some wonderful work that has gone into this football club over the last four-and-a-half years. It is now the job of myself and Craig [Shakespeare, assistant coach] to continue and improve on that work with the ultimate aim of surviving in the Premier League.
"Norwich City is a big club, with a massive hardcore of supporters who are fully understanding in what it means to be part of the club and its community.
"From the age of 16 I’ve been working in football. I think in that time I’ve had four months out and didn’t enjoy it. It’s great to get straight back in with a club that are determined to be progressive.
Dean will be joined in the dugout by his assistant head coach Craig Shakespeare, formerly of Leicester City, Everton and Aston Villa.#NCFC pic.twitter.com/lAh7rj878j
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) November 15, 2021
"I was really impressed with the idea, structure and vision that is already in place at the club."
The 50-year-old managed Walsall and Brentford before taking the top job at Aston Villa in 2018, and he guided the club to promotion from the Championship in his first year at the helm.
The Villans narrowly avoided relegation from the top flight in 2019-'20 before securing an 11th-place finish last term, and Smith invested heavily in new signings over the summer with a view to launching a European qualification bid.
Unfortunately, Villa slipped back down to 16th in the current campaign, with Smith paying the ultimate price for their regression, and keeping Norwich up will be an even tougher challenge for the Englishman.
