Steven Gerrard wants to re-establish Aston Villa as one of England’s biggest clubs once again
Steven Gerrard is ready to ‘push hard’ in re-establishing Aston Villa as one of English football’s biggest clubs once again as he tests positive at a bad time for the Villains ahead of Chelsea’s visit on Boxing Day
- Steven Gerrard wants to make Aston Villa one of England’s biggest clubs again
- The Villa boss has won four of his first six games since taking over at the club
- He has hinted at strengthening his Villa side in the January transfer window
- And ahead of Chelsea’s visit, he is hoping they can become a force again
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Steven Gerrard says he is ready to ‘push hard’ to try to re-establish Aston Villa as one of the biggest clubs in the country.
The Villa manager, who tested positive for Covid on Saturday and will miss at least the next two games, has four wins from six games since taking over from Dean Smith and wants to build on that new-found optimism.
Gerrard has hinted at squad strengthening next month and, with the wealth of owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris behind him, he hopes Villa can be a force in the Premier League.
Steven Gerrard wants to re-establish Aston Villa as one of England’s biggest clubs again
The former Liverpool and England midfielder, whose side host Chelsea on Sunday, said: ‘It’s a massive club and I’m really privileged and honoured to be in this seat and this position.
‘We need to keep progressing and keep trying to be stronger on a daily basis. The players are doing everything they can for that to happen. We want to push on, we want to continue our good form and finish as high up in the table as we can.
‘We’re trying to work on some situations where we can add to the squad and make us stronger, and put us in the best possible position.’
The Villa boss has won four of his first six games since taking over at the club last month
Gerrard’s main concern is that during his absence the Villa side can get through the current Covid outbreak that caused last weekend’s game with Burnley to be called off at short notice.
‘There’s a lot of games to play, we’re about to enter a really busy fixture period so for me it’s about getting the players through that in the safest possible way,’ he said.
‘If we can get our full squad back healthy and fit, and add one or two to it, I think we’ll be in a fantastic place to push hard from now until the end of the season.
‘I’m really optimistic and positive from a football point of view. We’ll always try to be as aggressive as we can to finish as high up as we can.’
Villa have risen up the table under Gerrard’s lead, and are looking to get back into Europe
The Chelsea game provides Gerrard with another ‘acid test’ after defeats by Liverpool and City
The Chelsea game provides Villa with another ‘acid test’ but he appears to be ahead of schedule in terms of turning around a Villa side.
He said: ‘You learn more about your players the better and more challenging the game is.
‘We learned a lot against Liverpool and Man City even though we were on the wrong side of the result, so I’m sure Chelsea will be no different,’ the Villa manager said.
