The new manager of Aston Villa, Steven Gerrard has insisted that he is not thinking about Liverpool despite the speculation that Villa is his stepping stone to his dream of coaching Liverpool.
Recall that Steven Gerrard was a product of the Liverpool youth system and went on to become one of the greatest footballers at the club. To date, the English tactician is referred to as Liverpool’s captain fantastic due to his ability to change the outcome of games during his playing days.
When he became coach at Scottish side, Rangers, Steven Gerrard reportedly admitted that his dream is to become the coach of Liverpool. He was very close to actualizing the dream last season when Liverpool’s current coach Jurgen Klopp had a rough mid-season.
Despite the pressure on Liverpool’s board to sack Klopp and replace him with Gerrard, the board stuck with the German coach until he was able to stabilize things again.
Still, most pundits and fans of Liverpool see Gerrard as Klopp’s potential successor until the English tactician decided to leave Rangers for struggling Aston Villa.
Recall that Gerrard took over from Dean Smith earlier in the month when Aston Villa were already sitting on the 16th spot on the league table with 10 points in 11 games, just two points away from the relegation zone.
His first game in charge of Aston is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 20, at 16:00. The Premier League game is a home match against 7th placed Brighton.
Even though Steven Gerrard still has to lead Aston Villa to play against Crystal Palace on November 27, against Manchester City on December 1, and Leicester City on December 5, before he will lead the team to Anfield Stadium to play against Liverpool on December 11, the game against Liverpool has continued to enjoy an undue spotlight.
In a press conference ahead of Aston Villa’s game against Brighton, Steven Gerrard urged reporters to show respect to Aston Villa supporters by not pushing him to always talk about Liverpool.
He stressed that he is proud that he has been appointed the coach of Aston Villa, adding that Liverpool have a world-class coach in Klopp who the club is happy with.
Gerrard said: “In terms of Liverpool, again I don’t think this press conference should be about any other club but Aston Villa, I think we have to show respect to our supporters.
“I think everyone knows all around the world what Liverpool means to me but my focus is very much on Aston Villa. I’ve said that I am all-in and I can promise our supporters that that’s the case.
“I think first and foremost it’s an extremely proud moment from a personal point of view, it’s a real honor to be the manager of this football club”.
“Everyone knows around the world what Liverpool means to me but my focus is on Aston Villa”, he added.
“You will never hear me say that it is a ‘stepping stone’ [to managing Liverpool]. For me, I am really proud and honored to be in this position.
“I am all-in. I will give this job everything that it needs for it to be a success. I will be 100 percent committed and I don’t think there’s anything wrong in football to have dreams and aspirations.
“They have got a world-class coach who they are very happy with. If he was to sign a lifetime deal right now, I would be very happy for them and him.”
🗣 'It's important to make sure this press conference is about Aston Villa."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 18, 2021
Steven Gerrard says it's an 'real honour' to be #AVFC's Head Coach and promises his supporters he is all in ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Eu5coIYDea
