The former Aston Villa boss recalls his stint in B6 which has been a mistake considering how it had shocked him.
Taking charge of the team in the Premier League can be quite a challenge for the young manager without sufficient experience at the top level. This season for example, the ex-Real Madrid caretaker last season, Alvaro Arbeloa, has been struggling with Fulham, which is stuck at the bottom of the table, with only two points in hand.
The ex-England and Liverpool star had to learn the hard way about similar situation. Steven Gerrard was going through such with Aston Villa, despite already winning a silverware in his previous club, Glasgow Rangers. He recently shared his regrets for taking the job too soon in the Premier League in the Overlap podcast, as reported in Daily Record.
“What I realised in my experience of being the Villa manager was, from a coaching perspective, when you’re on your own or with your group of staff, it’s a lot more brutal than when you play as a player. It can unravel extremely fast. It can shock you.”
Gerrard realizes how challenging it was to turn the table in Villa Park when he took the job. He thought being in charge of Rangers for three and a half years was enough. He could have stayed longer or at least finish his season with Gers as at that time they had fine campaign in the league and Europa League. In fact, his successor, Giovanni Van Bronckhost even led Rangers to the final before losing to Oliver Glasner’s Frankfurt on penalties.
However, at that time, the offer to Premier League was appealing for him, without realizing how big the challenges awaited. English top flight is at different level. Sadly, Gerrard did not consider it wisely.
“In my shoes, at that moment when Villa came, you’re also thinking, could this be your only opportunity? So it’s difficult and it’s challenging. It pulls you in different ways.”
At first, the former Liverpool captain seemed to be doing fine. In his first 10 games at the helm of John McGinn and Co, Aston Villa picked up four wins, snatched one draw but lost five times, four of which were against the elite sides, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and his former club, The Reds.
The then 42-year old boss did manage to guide the Lions to safety in the 2021/22 season. They finished 14th. Yet, when the new season came, more challenges came with the new signings, new target from the management, as well as other issues with performance consistency, star players, tactical stuff etc.
Gerrard appeared to be unable to cope with it. His side only won three times in 13 games, despite a notable result while holding Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in a 1-1 draw on matchday six in the 2022/23 season. He was eventually relieved in October before Unai Emery’s arrival in November 1.
Ironically, his managerial career has gone sideways too since leaving Villa Park. He only had another stint with Saudi Pro League side, Al-Ettifaq. His tenure there had mixed results too, finishing seventh in the first season but then once again failed in the second season, including with nine winless run, leading to his exit in January 2025. Gerrard has been without a club ever since. He was reportedly approached by Rangers to return last season but he rejected due to lack of autonomy as a manager.
The former midfielder with 114 international caps can only regret now and hope another right offer would come along the way. He reflects what he learned from the senior managers before giving his advice.
”I’m just thinking about the likes of Sam Allardyce now, and Harry Redknapp, and Alan Pardew, ex-managers, my coaches, thinking, he’s saying the right thing there, because you can’t fast-track experience. You’ve got to go and get those games and those experiences and learn and grow.”
“My advice to coaches, I don’t know whether the likes of Frank (Lampard) and Michael (Carrick) agree with this, is experience is key. Get as many games as a coach and a manager as you possibly can before your opportunity comes.”
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