Fulham manager Marco Silva gives verdict on Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard

Fulham’s Marco Silva has said Steven Gerrard can overcome ‘tough moments’ to become a better manager as the two coaches prepare to face eachother on Thursday (20 October) night.

Villa are 17th in the Premier League, having won just two of their opening 10 games so far this season, with Gerrard under increasing pressure after the difficult start to the campaign. According to a report by The Telegraph, Mauricio Pochettino will be a ‘target’ if Villa were to make a managerial change and replace Gerrard.

It’s a pivotal week for the former Liverpool captain, with Villa taking on newly-promoted Fulham at Craven Cottage tonight, before another big game at home to Brentford on Sunday. The Cottagers have had a very good start to the season and sit in 12th place. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s meeting in London, Fulham boss Marco Silva has backed Gerrard to turn around Aston Villa’s poor form.

‘I’m 100 percent sure that Steven Gerrard knows how to deal with this situation’

When asked by Sky Sports if he had any advice for Gerrard, Silva, who was previously sacked by Everton in the Premier League, said: “I’ve had tough moments, and very good moments as well, and I prefer to highlight the good moments.

“People sometimes put all of the focus on things that aren’t important. I prefer to be more positive even when you have tough moments, because before that there are many good moments you have to take from your career that make you a better manager as well, and some tough moments make you better as well.

“I’m 100% sure Steven Gerrard knows how to deal with this situation, he has all the experience as a football player, and as a manager he has some experience with how to deal with it as well, like all of us we know it. When you are in this job you have to enjoy really because you know people will highlight the tough moments but our careers are so long, even if you are a young manager it’s really long - all of the tough moments make me stronger every single day, which is the pressure which we put on ourselves.”

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