“If you play for Aston Villa it should be in your DNA.

“You should make the most of your opportunity; you’re at a top club with top people, facilities and resources. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t want to improve the current situation.

“The players are giving me everything they’ve got. They’re just as determined as myself to change our results. We all understand where we’re at.

“We’ve got an honest group. Everyone around me is totally focused and working as hard as they can to change our results.

“The reason we’re doing that is because we know there’s frustration for our supporters and we want to change that.

“[NSWE] were absolutely delighted with what they saw for the first 60, 65 minutes at the weekend.

“They couldn’t believe we came out of that game losing 2-0 but this is football at the top. Sometimes games can go against you; the goalkeeper can get man of the match and you can hit the woodwork and individual errors. This is part of the game.

“Our first five, six games we weren’t good enough.

“The data and everything we looked at and analysed in those games, we weren’t there and we knew that. But there’s certainly been an upturn and we’re a lot closer to where we want to be but there’s still work to do.”

“I think the owners, Christian (Purslow) and Johan (Lange) are with me in terms of, like, you know, finding these next couple of big results and big performances.

“The players are on the same page. Everyone wants it and now we’ve got to go and execute it.

“You have to talk about data at Aston Villa. You have no choice. It’s everywhere! I won’t give too much away but we are all under review, everybody’s position is under review.

“We look at the data and we look at a game-by-game basis but also every six games, 10 games and compare to see where we are. One thing data doesn’t give you is sometimes in football you need something to drop for you, a bit of luck. We try to put it into context.

“For example, we played Nottingham Forest and our xG was really low. But that does not take into consideration certain things that were big chances in the game. That is just one example. But Villa love data and, in my position, you have to be used to it. Do I love data? If it’s good, yeah!

“I’ve had tough days, but tough days are ok because you need to use tough days as motivation for when better days come. I’m a young manager, I get that, and this is a tough period but it’s a great challenge for me from a personal point of view.

“I want to prove to everyone that I can improve our situation. I’m here to fight every single minute of every day and I’ve got every belief and confidence in myself that I can change this situation.”

Steven Gerrard, pre match.


“The performance was nowhere near good enough

“The first half shocked me, particularly after the weekend.

“I’ll try and find the answers but I won’t disrespect my players. We were excellent at the weekend but it’s very difficult to praise them after tonight.

“It’s tough, but I’m a man, I accept it, I understand it, I can feel their frustration, I’m frustrated with them. It was a tough night for me personally.

“We’ll see what happens, I understand the situation we’re in, I’m a fighter, I will never ever quit anything, certainly when it comes down to football or anything in life. We’ll see what happens moving forward.

“Look, I’ve been sending messages to fans for the last few weeks because I certainly share their frustrations and pain because I’m someone who’s honest. I know that they’re not enjoying it at the moment. I’m certainly not so we’ll see what happens moving forward. You know and I know we’re in a very difficult position right now.”

Steven Gerrard, post match, adds misogyny to his talents as he channels his inner Liz Truss.


“Look, there’s cameras all over the place. There’s a lot of referees in different places that look at different angles. I think you give the referee a decision to make when behave like that on the football pitch. I’ve certainly got no complaints with the decision and it’s really, really frustrating from that moment. There was still a lot of time left at 1-0 and that moment of madness has cost us even more.

“[Was it frustration?] You’ll have to ask Douglas that question. I think we’re in a position where we should all be feeling the pressure. That’s the reality of the Premier League. Everyone should be feeling it if you care about the club, the fans. But I’ve been trying to take as much away from my players to make them play with freedom. I certainly haven’t asked them to do anything like that on the football pitch, that’s for sure.

Steven Gerrard, post match, on Douglas Luiz’s red card.



“Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect.

A club spokesman said: “We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”

Aston Villa press release post match.