LONDON (Reuters) - Aston Villa sacked head coach Dean Smith on Sunday (Nov 7) after they suffered a fifth successive Premier League defeat in a 1-0 loss at Southampton on Friday.

"Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that the club have parted company with head coach Dean Smith," Villa said in a statement.

Villa appointed the former Brentford boss in 2018 after he developed a reputation for playing exciting, attacking football.

He guided Villa back to the Premier League via the playoffs in his first campaign with a club record 10-match winning run at the end of the season.

Smith, a Villa fan, then helped his team retain their top-flight status the following season and was unlucky not to add silverware when they lost 2-1 to Manchester City in the League Cup final.

However, Villa have struggled this season, with 10 points from 11 matches to sit 15th.

"After a good start to last season, this year we have not seen the continuous improvement in results, performances and league position which we have all been looking for," Villa chief executive officer Christian Purslow said.

"For this reason we have decided to make a change now to allow time for a new head coach to make an impact."