Steven Gerrard addresses his Aston Villa future and Philippe Coutinho’s form ahead of Fulham clash

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has said he has ‘total trust and confidence’ in himself and his players despite the side’s poor run of form.

Villa are 16th 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 on Thursday night (20 October), before another big game at home to Brentford on Sunday.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Gerrard acknowledged how important this week will be for the club.

Gerrard said: “You need to use tough days as motivation for when the better days come. This is a tough period but it’s a great challenge. The players are giving me everything they’ve got, they are determined to change the results. Everyone around me is totally focused.

“I see the players, I see the character and the determination. I see how much they put into their daily routine and if we stick together and we keep believing, the results will change.”

‘I’m not going to hide away, I want to be judged on the now’

Asked by Sky Sports if Gerrard feels Villa are better now than we he took over as manager a year ago, the former Rangers boss, said: “Yes I do, I have total trust and confidence in myself and this group of players. It’s well documented we’re missing big players at the moment, and a lot of the improvements we tried to make available in the last window to help us are not available at the moment.

“I believe we might have been in a healthier position with that support but they’re (new signings) on the way back which is a positive.”

Addressing his future, Gerrard added: “Every manager and coach you speak to will always talk about time, but i’m not going to hide away from anything, I want to be judged on the now as well, and I totally understand the situation we’re in and how important it is to have a positive week.”

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