'Aston Villa sells itself' - Steven Gerrard hungry and excited for the pressure of being boss at Premier League club
ByTNT Sports
Updated 15/11/2021 at 13:53 GMT
Steven Gerrard has secured himself a prestigious Premier League job in the third year of his managerial career. The former Liverpool captain believes he has what it takes to bring an exciting brand of football to the Villa supporters and is looking forward to the pressure to win matches straight away. Aston Villa, who are 16th in the Premier League table on 10 points, host Brighton on Saturday.
Steven Gerrard
Image credit: Getty Images
Steven Gerrard says Aston Villa “sells itself” and believes the club are about to embark on an exciting chapter with him in charge.
Gerrard left Rangers last week to succeed Dean Smith as Villa boss. Smith was sacked after a run of five successive league defeats and Gerrard’s first aim will be to steer the club clear of the relegation zone.
The 41-year-old, who won the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers last season, says he is looking forward to getting to work and embraces the pressure to produce instant results.
“I think Aston Villa sells itself,” said Gerrard.
An iconic football club that I know pretty well from the outside and I’m very much excited to get involved inside and start building relationships, get on the training pitch and get started.
“The excitement levels are really, really high. I’m very hungry, very ambitious and the start can’t come quickly enough.”
"I think this club will suit me because I know the fans are very passionate. I know there’s a demand and a pressure here to win, that’s something I’ve lived with since I was 17-18 years of age.
So, for me, it’s about making everyone come together and be unified, and I believe we can do exciting things together.
Reflecting on his transition from a player to manager, Gerrard believes taking risky decisions is what has got him to where he is.
He added: “I think going through all the coaching courses is obviously challenging and takes its time, but I think the important thing when you are transitioning from player to coach is to start from the beginning.
“I think a lot of players, from what I’ve seen, think maybe because they’ve had a decent playing career they automatically think they can roll into a coaching role or a managerial role and all of a sudden they’re going to be really good at it.
“For me, it was about starting from the beginning and putting the blocks in place; really learning from the start, going away from the cameras initially, taking the youth team at Liverpool, they were a big support to me.
"That gave me a couple of years of real pitch experience, to get comfortable preparing sessions, delivering sessions and leading the team.
“And then obviously the Rangers opportunity came, which was really big, again, another iconic club.
“And for me, I like a challenge, I like a risk, and it’s something I’m really looking forward to getting in to.
“I think this club will suit me because I know the fans are very passionate. I know there’s a demand and a pressure here to win, that’s something I’ve lived with since I was 17-18 years of age.
“So, for me, it’s about making everyone come together and be unified, and I believe we can do exciting things together.”
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