Steven Gerrard has given his first interview as Aston Villa boss and spoke of his excitement and what he will ask of his players.
Villa moved quickly to replace Dean Smith last week, as the club agreed terms with Rangers and Gerrard to officially announce his appointment.
READ MORE: How Villa could line up under Gerrard and what style to expect
Training session No.1 ✅ pic.twitter.com/A4oT8Gba04
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 15, 2021
The 41-year-old began work at Bodymoor Heath on Monday as he oversaw his first training session with the players who aren’t away on international duty, while he also carried out his in-house media duties as he sat down for his first interview with Villa TV since being appointed.
As expected, Gerrard covered a number of topics and addressed various aspects of the job, and he certainly hit the right tone when it came to those key issues as he hopes to instil his ideas and philosophy as soon as possible.
“I think Aston Villa sells itself,” he told Villa TV. “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 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.”
Gerrard won’t have a great deal of time to get his ideas across to his players in the short-term, particularly those returning later this week from international duty, ahead of our Premier League encounter with Brighton on Saturday.
In turn, he’ll hope to get his side as ready as possible, install the fundamentals and basic aspects of the identity and culture he wants to create at Villa moving forward, and it’s hoped that will be enough to see positive early signs at the weekend and importantly, three much-needed points as we look to end a five-game losing streak.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that this is a long-term plan now with him at the helm, and so between now and January, he’ll hope to get the best out of the players at his disposal, and then strengthen where he feels necessary in the New Year to ensure we kick on and continue to climb the Premier League table between now and May.
Steven Gerrard: "I think Aston Villa sells itself. An iconic football club, very excited to get involved, start building relationships & get out on training pitch. Excitement levels are really high, I'm very hungry & ambitious, and the start can't come quick enough."#avfc #UTV
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) November 15, 2021
