Steven Gerrard has called on the Aston Villa board to give him the time he needs to reverse the club’s frustrating start to the Premier League season. Ahead of the Sunday clash with Chelsea (2pm kick-off), Gerrard has claimed fine margins have prevented Villa from breaking into the top half of the table, but the head coach acknowledges that now is the time to get results. Asked if he is demanding patience from above,
Steven Gerrard said: “I am asking for that, of course, but at the same time I’m aware that our results should and could have been better. Especially in the last two and, maybe in some people’s eyes, they’d have seen some progression and see us closer to where we need to get to. If we’d scored against Forest – I’m saying if here and I understand we’re not. For example, if Phil’s (Coutinho) strike goes in off the post and we beat Leeds 1-0, or we don’t concede a set-piece (vs Forest) and John McGinn decides to volley that instead of a diving header from 16 centimetres… I know all the lines that will come, if my auntie was my uncle and all of that, but we’d be sitting here in ninth and it’s a moment. It’s a small margin, it’s a perspective. It’s a small moment and we’d be ninth. I took over this team 16th, two points above relegation off the back of five defeats. Five defeats. So, in my eyes, I can see and feel a progression and realise how close we are and we need to change and fire on all cylinders in the final third. But I can see it being close to seeing the progression. I also appreciate that where we look now in the table and people’s opinions and blah, blah, I can understand the pressure, criticism and where the frustration comes from. I’m not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, for sure.”
