Sacked Aston Villa manager Dean Smith believes he could have led the club to a top-10 Premier League finish had he remained in the job.
Smith, 50, was dismissed on Sunday after a run of five successive league defeats, with Villa 16th in the table.
Appointed in October 2018, Smith guided Villa to 11th place in the top flight last season, two years after taking them up from the Championship.
"My belief was that we would continue our progression this season," he said.
Villa were 14th in the Championship when Smith arrived, and after he guided them to promotion, he then kept them in the Premier League on the final day of the season in 2020.