Aston Villa boss Dean Smith is happy with his players this season.
Smith insists his side's Premier League position is not a fair reflection of the quality of their performances.
"It's very harsh because I look at the eight games we've played this season and think only Tottenham have been better than us," Smith said on his club's official website.
"In all the games we've played so far we've been very competitive, a couple of mistakes let us down against Bournemouth and at Villa Park we've been good.
"We played well against Bournemouth apart from the mistakes, played well against Everton and played well against West Ham.
"But on the road we haven't got the points we have deserved. Sometimes that's been down to us and sometimes down to things out of our control."
