Steven Gerrard: 10 things the new Aston Villa boss will bring to the job

Aston Villa’s new boss might have only been in the game for a couple of years, but he is a manager who has already got his hand on silverware, and he will be keen to reinstall a winning mentality at Villa Park.

We take a look at 10 things which Steven Gerrard will bring with him to Birmingham…

1. A Stubborn defence

It is no secret that Villa’s defence has been extremely easy to penetrate this season, and this is something which was a problem with Rangers when Gerrard first stepped into the role.

Gerrard halved the number of goals his Rangers side conceded compared to the last two seasons before he took over. Villa were impressive defensively last season, and Gerrard will be eager to restore this.

2. Leadership

Gerrard is most well known for being a player who led from the front at Liverpool and helped the side to a Champions League title and in some close run Premier League title races.

His attitude and persona is something that goes a long way in the modern game, and Villa fans can look forward to plenty of this.

3. A winning mentality

In three years at Ibrox, Gerrard took Rangers from out of the shadows of their arch rivals Celtic and into a formidable title winning side.

He is used to winning matches and this is something that, with the right amount of engagement and development with the players, can be possible at Villa Park.

4. Tactical aggression 

Tactically, Gerrard is not a manager you can describe as ‘cautious’. At Rangers, he regularly lined his side up with a 4-3-3 formation.

With the attackers at his disposal at Villa (Watkins, Ings, McGinn to name a few) then fans could see a taste of this sooner rather than later.

5. A chance for academy players 

At Rangers, Gerrard was keen to give players in the academy the chance to feature in the first team.

In pre-season, he challenged his academy players to seize the chances they would get and he was also manager of the youth sides at both Rangers and Liverpool.

Villa are known for their work in bringing through academy players, and it looks as though the new boss will be keen to carry on this tradition.

6. A lot of Premier League experience

Although this will be his first managerial role in the English top flight, Gerrard knows exactly what it takes to do well in the Premier League.

He was captain of a Liverpool side which, in an alternate universe, would have lifted the title thanks to players such as himself, Luiz Suarez and Phillipe Coutinho.

Villa’s short term aims are far less than to win the Premier League, of course, but the experience Gerrard has in the league should prove to be very important in the coming months.

7. European experience 

The chance to play in Europe is something that all football fans want to see for their team, and should Villa find themselves in the continent during the next few years, they should know they are in good hands with Gerrard.

His Rangers side have a decent record in European competitions, reaching the round of 16 in last season’s Europa League competition and losing less than 10 of his 50 European matches in charge.

What’s more is that Gerrard was able to keep Rangers fighting on two fronts, domestic and European, which is so important and often something that is a struggle.

8. Experience working with a Director of Football 

The Director of Football position is not one that every top flight club has, but it is one Villa have and it is also something that Gerrard worked with at Rangers.

With a DoF, the hierarchy of the club works differently, and with Gerrard’s only previous managerial first team role coming with a DoF above him there shouldn’t be a great deal of transition needed.

9. Level headed, with just enough passion

As a player and a manger, Gerrard has always come across as a good speaker who is capable of getting the best out others in the game, whether that be his team mates or his own players.

He will bring a lot of passion to this job, but at the same time Villa fans will be reassured to see a composed manager in the dugout.

10. Huge amounts of respect

Gerrard has been a prominent figure in the game for over 20 years now, and the respect he earned during his Liverpool playing days has stuck with him.

He has remained one of the most respected names in the game for a reason, and it is because he is a likable person and a man with huge footballing knowledge and know how.