Brighton midfielder Adam Lallana admits he was surprised Steven Gerrard retired from playing when he did as he backed the new Aston Villa boss to have an immediate impact. Lallana will be in the Brighton squad which travels to Villa Park at the weekend and will come face to face with his old Liverpool team-mate who will be making his bow in the dugout at B6.
Adam Lallana said: “Before Stevie moved to LA Galaxy, he mentioned he wanted to go into management. But I was pretty surprised he retired from playing when he did because he was easily good enough to carry on. He obviously wanted to get into management though and took the Liverpool under-18s job which was a great first job. He could make mistakes there, he probably learnt a lot and he hasn’t looked back since then. He was offered a great opportunity at Rangers and it’s there for everyone to see the job he’s done in the three-and-a-half years. He took on a very tough job at Ibrox. He had to clear it out, start from scratch and there were probably a lot of things he wanted to change. He won the 55th title and they had good European runs. I watched them on Thursday nights and they were a very Stevie team when you watched them. They were a very solid 4-3-3, attacked with real purpose and pace and I have no doubt he will have a very similar impact at Aston Villa.”
Lallana says Gerrard’s stellar career, in which he led Liverpool to a famous European Cup triumph in 2005, means he carries a great deal of respect which he says the Villa players will thrive off.
Adam Lallana added: “Stevie’s just got this aura around him. He just needs to walk through the door and into the room and the atmosphere changes in a positive way. That’s what he brings, that’s years and years of performing at the top level. When you get speaking to him, you almost forget he’s Steven Gerrard. He’s a wonderful man and he will do anything to help you. He possesses great qualities to be a manager and he’s got a combination of everything. I’m pretty sure the Villa lads will be very excited to be working with him. I’ve not spoken to him since he was appointed, he’s probably been inundated with messages and he will just want to get cracking with work straight away. It’s been the international break so he’s probably had just over a week to work with the team. I’m sure I’ll speak to him after the game. Hopefully we’ll be leaving with maximum points so I’m not sure he’ll be around to speak to me then! He’s a great man and I obviously wish him all the best in his job at Villa.”
