“They know the rules on that,” was Steven Gerrard’s sharp and no-nonsense reply when asked if his Aston Villa players could pig out on Christmas Day. Gerrard, 41, will give his Villa squad and staff Christmas morning off on Saturday before calling them into Bodymoor Heath for an evening session ahead of Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Steven Gerrard said: “I’m a really kind manager so I’ve given them Christmas morning off but I’ve got them in on Christmas night so I don’t know if I’m kind or cruel. We will be training on Christmas Day if that’s the answer you’re looking for but it’ll be in the night.”
Steven Gerrard added: “I like to give players time with the families where they can wake up and enjoy the special time with your kids and your close ones. They’re free to have Christmas dinner at home following the instructions and we’ll do a light session on Christmas night.”
So not too many roasters then, Steven? “They know the rules on that,” he replied. Gerrard, meanwhile, says it’s wrong for players to be forced to play on December 26 and then again on December 28 with Villa hosting Chelsea before travelling to Leeds next week.
Steven Gerrard added: “As long as I live and breathe I’ll never get my head around footballers being asked to play within that short space of time. I’ve experienced it as a player and it’s not good as a player I can guarantee you that. But the message to all of the players in the squad and those who are on the fringes is to be ready because (Covid) is changing daily and we’re going to need everyone. We’re about to enter a really busy fixture list with two games on the 26th and the 28th and it’s impossible to play the same players in the two games. Everyone needs to be ready and they can’t use it as an excuse that I’ve surprised them because they’ve been told they need to be ready at any given time.”
In terms of Villa’s squad for Chelsea, two first-team players returned to training on Wednesday while Villa did have a new positive case confirmed on Monday.
