Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has reflected on his stunning start to the new campaign.
The England forward has been in red hot form with the Midlands club, scoring yet again at the weekend.
Watkins netted the third in a 4-1 thumping of West Ham United, which moved Villa up to fifth in the table.
"I always text Dean Smith and say I owe it to him for showing faith in me," he told Sky Sports, as Smith was in attendance for the game on punditry duties.
"I'm not just saying that because he's stood next to me! We still have a good relationship and keep in contact, don't we?"
Asked how he's worked on his game since coach Unai Emery's arrival, Watkins replied: "Before I would run into the corner flags and be chasing things but now we have attacking full-backs that do that so I try to stay central. I make more clever runs, I would say.
"There were times where I was dropping too deep to get touches on the ball whereas now I'm not as bothered about that. I let the other creative players do what they need to do and receive the ball from them. I'm not too worried about touches. It's working well.
"Over 20 goals and going to the Euros is what I want to do. That's my goals and it's what I'm pushing for. I know my club form has to be good with Villa."