John Terry has spoken of his delight about taking over as Aston Villa assistant manager, insisting he will be returning to a 'club where I have great memories'.
Dean Smith was confirmed as the new Villa manager on Wednesday night following Steve Bruce's sacking, with Terry joining as his No 2 after retiring from his playing duties at the weekend.
Terry played under Bruce for Villa during the 2017-18 season, making the Championship play-off final before agonisingly losing 1-0 to Fulham at Wembley.
And as he prepares to begin life in coaching at Villa - who sit 15th in the Championship after 12 games - Terry has revealed he can't wait to get started.
The former England and Chelsea captain wrote on Instagram on Thursday: 'Delighted to be assisting Dean Smith at Aston Villa.
'Looking forward to my 1st steps into coaching and returning to a club where I have great memories.'
Smith and Terry begin their reign at Villa Park with a home clash against Swansea on Saturday, October 20.
Terry has been studying for his coaching badges at Chelsea and was last week overseeing a youth team game at Cobham.
Smith, who possesses superb credentials after bringing about an attractive style of play at Walsall and Brentford, should be an immediate fan favourite having followed Villa since the age of four.
'There's an affinity to Aston Villa,' said Smith last week. 'My dad was a steward there for 20-odd years and me and my brother were dragged there at a very young age. We were brought up as Villa fans. My brother's still going.'
Villa's search for a successor to Steve Bruce had been extensive, with early favourite Thierry Henry ruling himself out of the running to negotiate with Monaco.
Rui Faria was also mentioned but Jose Mourinho's former assistant is enjoying his break and sees his first job as manager coming in a top division.
