The Premier League club, Aston Villa on Thursday confirmed the signing of former England and Liverpool midfielder as their new manager. This move came after the sacking of Dean Smith, who had a very dismal form of run with the club in recent time. He was relieved from his duty following a run of 5 successive Premier League defeats for Villa.
Steven Gerrard was in charge of the Scottish Club named Rangers. With that club, last year, he won the Scottish Premiership, breaking the prestigious 9 season-long streak of their archrivals Celtic. This was the Ibrox club’s 55th Premiership title. The club achieved the accolade on the back of an unbeaten run in the league campaign.
Reuters report that the current CEO of Ashton Villa Christian Purslow put out an official statement on the signing of Gerard. Purslow called Gerrard someone whose “ambitions, philosophy, and values” matched with that of the club. He further added that Gerrard had shown some great determination and brave decision-making by winning the Scottish league with Glasgow Rangers. The Scottish club Ranger’s chairman, too, thanked Gerrard on his departure and thanked him for everything he had done for the club. The chairman said, “He has provided us with some unforgettable moments, not least his delivery of the Scottish Premiership title back to Ibrox last season, having not lost a single match in the entire league campaign.”
Welcome to Aston Villa, Steven Gerrard. pic.twitter.com/MF8n9CPaYW
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 11, 2021
Steven Gerrard is the first managerial signing of Aston Villa since the takeover by the American owners. Gerrard has no experience of coaching in the Premier League and will face his first challenge on the 20th of November when his side takes on Brighton.