Henri Lansbury, James Bree and Anwar El Ghazi are among those set to be involved in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Bodymoor Heath tomorrow.

Villa currently have 12 senior players away on international duty and the match has been organised in order to give players currently out of the first-team picture match practice.

Smith insists every member of his squad has a role to play in improving performances of the team.

He said: “The performance at Derby on Saturday is not just from the 11 who played or the subs who came on, it is from training every day and the whole squad. The likes of Henri, James Bree and Anwar have upped the training sessions and that is what makes the squad better.”

Smith has been encouraged by the way players have responded to his coaching methods since replacing Steve Bruce in the Villa Park hotseat last month.

And he revealed how the quality of Villa’s squad is pushing both himself and assistants Richard O’Kelly and John Terry to become better coaches.

He said: “They are very good players. What they are doing at the moment is testing myself, John and Rich because they are good players and take on information very quickly and become tactically astute much quicker.

“We are having to come up with sessions which are going to test them and make them better.

“It’s a two-fold thing. We are trying to make them better and invest time in them. They are making us better, that is for sure.”