An hour after Aston Villa’s return to the Premier League was secured at Wembley, co-owner Nassef Sawiris made a rare appearance in front of the television cameras.

As Villa's fans wildly celebrated promotion, Sawiris proudly insisted: "The sky is the limit. Our ambition was not just to get promoted but to do well in the Premier League.”

After a spend of £127 million on 12 new players, optimism was sky-high in the summer and even manager Dean Smith was talking of ambitions far higher than mere survival.

Seven months later, the mood has changed dramatically. Villa find themselves in the relegation zone after five defeats in six matches, with Smith under increasing pressure and a season in serious danger of unravelling.

Smith is “one of their own”, a Villa supporter since the 1970s, but that will not spare him from scrutiny over the alarming run of form. Many Villa fans are in a strange place: criticising Smith over tactical naivety and team selection, while desperate for him to succeed.

Relegation would be a disaster for many reasons. The financial ramifications would be immense, and Villa are certain to face scrutiny from the English Football League over whether spending under their former owner Dr Tony Xia broke their Profitability and Sustainability rules. Their talismanic captain Jack Grealish, John McGinn, Tyrone Mings and Tom Heaton, plus many others, will probably be sold.