Steven Gerrard has been appointed the new manager of Aston Villa a few days after the club sacked Dean Smith due to a poor run of games.
Smith led Aston Villa to record 7 defeats, a draw, and record only three wins in 11 Premier League games before he was sacked. The poor run forced Aston Villa to sink as low as the 16th spot with 10 points in 11 games, just 2 points away from the relegation zone.
Despite Villa’s position on the league table, Steven Gerrard agreed to leave Rangers which he has been coaching since 2018, two years after he retired from professional football.
Before Aston Villa convinced him to leave Rangers for the Premier League side, Gerrard had helped the Scottish side to win the Scottish Premiership title in the 2020-2021 season.
He was on the verge of winning this season’s Scottish league before he left the club. Rangers are currently topping the league table with 30 points in 13 games, four points above second-placed Celtic.
The former Liverpool midfielder decided to throw all that away to sign a three-and-a-half-year deal with Aston Villa earlier today, November 11, 2021.
Reports claimed that the Premier League side had to pay Rangers a compensation fee worth over £3.25 million before the Scottish side agreed to termite the remaining 2 years left in his contract.
After he signed the deal with the Premier League side, the ex-England international said he is proud to become the coach of Aston Villa.
“Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach”, Gerrard said.
“In my conversations with Nassef, Wes, and the rest of the Board, it was apparent how ambitious their plans are for the club and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their aims.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everybody associated with Glasgow Rangers for allowing me to manage such an iconic football club.
“Helping them secure a record-breaking 55th league title will always hold a special place in my heart. I would like to wish the players, staff, and supporters the very best for the future.”
Aston Villa have already unveiled Steven Gerrard and the 41-year-old English tactician had a meeting with the club’s chief executive Christian Purslow in London on Wednesday night.
Purslow said: “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 an 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.”
Steven Gerrard’s first game in charge of Aston Villa will be against Brighton on November 20, followed by the game against Crystal Palace on November 27.
Welcome to Aston Villa, Steven Gerrard. pic.twitter.com/MF8n9CPaYW
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 11, 2021
