Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard insists he will keep pushing the standards at the club until his players implement the identity he is striving to bring to the club. The 41-year-old was understandably delighted after Villa secured a 2-0 win over their former manager Dean Smith and his Norwich City side at Carrow Road. A sensational solo run and wonder strike from Jacob Ramsey on 34 minutes set up the visitors for the three points, the final 2-0 result secured three minutes from time when Ollie Watkins popped up with a close range finish at the near post.
Steven Gerrard said: “It’s a big win, an important win. The first half was outstanding. We challenged the players – can we come here, keep a clean sheet and win? They did that. It comes off a very challenging week. It was a really strong away performance. I would have liked the second goal to have come earlier. I thought we controlled large parts of this game. For 45 minutes we were outstanding and really looking like the identity I am trying to bring to the club. We were strong out of possession and organised. We were difficult to play against and we looked really dangerous. But at 1-0 you always run that risk of one mistake, so it was really nice to see Ollie finish it off. The application they gave at Anfield – I have no complaints. The players maxed out there. We’ve had a couple of Covid cases among the players and staff. It’s a bright start, but it’s my job to keep pushing the standards. We’ll get ready for a really tough challenge against Burnley. We need to be ready.”
Asked about Jacob Ramsey’s goal,
Steven Gerrard said: “He scored a fantastic goal. I thought his all-round performance was outstanding. He has a bright future for sure.”
