Dirk Kuyt has told Liverpool’s official website that he followed Steven Gerrard closely at Ibrox club Rangers and has backed him to be a success at Aston Villa.
Kuyt played with Gerrard at Liverpool and rates the new Villa boss highly.
The Dutchman believes that Gerrard will be a success at the Villans.
Gerrard left his managerial role at Rangers earlier this month.
The former England international midfielder took over at Villa.
Dirk Kuyt comments on Steven Gerrard
Kuyt told Liverpool’s official website: “Congratulations to Stevie, who began his reign at Aston Villa with an important win at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. I followed him at Rangers and I followed him a little bit when he was a youth trainer at Liverpool. He has everything in his guts to be a top, top manager.
“Stevie was not a guy who talked a lot as captain in the dressing room. But when he did talk, everybody was listening to him. It meant he made sense when he was talking.
“His managerial career is building up very impressively. It wasn’t easy to win the league in Scotland, especially with everything that happened with the club.
“Now he’s ready to make the next step and it’s also a brave move because the expectations at an historic club like Aston Villa are very high. It’s not easy but that’s what he wants. He wants to show people that he can make a difference in football.”
Succeeding at Aston Villa
Gerrard won the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers last season.
The 41-year-old left Rangers at the top of the league table this season.
And he won his first game in charge of Villa.
The Villans got the better of Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at Villa Park in the Premier League at the weekend.
Gerrard was a brilliant player, and the signs are very positive in terms of him becoming a great manager in the future.
Now, of course, we should not get carried away just yet.
Villa are unlikely to challenge for the Premier League top six this season or even next.
What is important is that there is clear progress with the team under Gerrard.
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