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Stuart Kavanagh
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Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa
Rangers Boss Joins Premier League Club
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has been announced as the new manager of Aston Villa.
The 41-year-old left his role as manager of Rangers in Scotland, having attained great success in the pressure cooker that is the Old Firm in Glasgow. His time in Scotland included Rangers' first league title in a decade. A feat he achieved during a season where the team remained undefeated. The Glasgow club was disappointed to let him go and praised his tenure at the club in their official statement acknowledging his exit.
The Scottish clubs' chairman Douglas Park had this to say:
"I would firstly like to put on record my thanks to Steven for his outstanding efforts over the last three-and-a-half years at Rangers, he has provided us all with some unforgettable moments, not least his delivery of the Scottish Premiership title back to Ibrox last season having not lost a match in the entire league campaign. In European competition, he has restored the good name and credibility of our club on the continent and leaves us in a very healthy position on the pitch."
The former England midfielder returns to the Premier League to replace Dean Smith in the top role at Villa. Smith was fired last weekend on the back of five straight defeats at the Brummy club. The Villains sit precariously close to the relegation zone after 11 games on 10 points. The board has allegedly handed Gerrard a target of a top-eight finish in his first season in charge.
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow was delighted to secure Steven Gerrard's signature. The pair had grown close during Purslows' time at Liverpool and Gerrard was the one and only name on the list when the time came to discuss a new manager. A beaming Purslow had this to say once the appointment was made official:
"The board of Aston Villa are delighted to appoint Steven as our new head coach, since moving into coaching after his illustrious playing career, Steven began by managing and developing top young players in the Liverpool FC academy which is experience we value highly at Aston Villa. It has been very clear in our discussions with him that Steven's coaching ambitions, philosophy and values entirely match those of Aston Villa. We are excited he has agreed to lead us in the next phase of our ambitious plans as we look to build on the progress made since Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens took over the club in 2018."
Gerrards' first game in the hot seat at Villa Park will be against Brighton and Hove Albion after the international break. Gerrard will return to face his former club Liverpool for the first time in his career mid- December in what is sure to be a highly anticipated match.
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