Forget McGinn: ‘Exceptional’ Villa ace could truly boom under Gerrard – Our View

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Steven Gerrard is the new manager of Aston Villa and this appointment could mark the exciting dawn of a new era at Villa Park.

Gerrard isn’t the most experienced coach in the world. He’s had just three and a half seasons at Rangers, but during his time in Glasgow he more than proved his credentials.

Indeed, Gerrard led the Teddy Bears to their first league title in a decade and even took them to an undefeated season last term.

With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Gerrard could bring about a marked improvement at Villa.

Certain players will certainly benefit from Gerrard’s arrival. Villa fans are already predicting a resurgence for John McGinn, and that prediction does make a lot of sense. After all, Gerrard was one of the best midfielders of his generation and the idea of him improving McGinn in that role is a romantic one.

However, in our view, there’s another player who could improve even more under Gerrard – Matty Cash.

During Gerrard’s time at Rangers, the standout players weren’t his midfielders, they were his full-backs, namely James Tavernier.

Indeed, Gerrard game Tavernier full license to go forward and attack, and that made him one of the Scottish Premiership’s deadliest weapons.

Last season, Tavernier got 20 goal contributions in the league from full-back, and if Cash is given the same license to roam, he could explode under Stevie G.

Now, we’re not predicting Cash to get 11 goals and nine assists in the same way Tavernier did last season. After all, the Premier League is a different beast to the Scottish League and Villa are nowhere near as dominant in this league as Rangers are in theirs.

However, there is reason to believe Cash could improve. The ‘exceptional’ full-back certainly has the stamina and energy to play in a role that allows him to attack more, and he even started his career as a winger at Nottingham Forest before being moved back to the defence.

Cash grabbed just two assists and didn’t score a single goal last season, but don’t be surprised if he starts putting up more impressive numbers from now on.