Steven Gerrard has shared that Gary McAllister spoke ‘very highly’ of the ‘very supportive’ Aston Villa fans when he asked him about the club, as he told VillaTV.
The new Villa manager also shared that he spoke with Ashley Young and how he knows Danny Ings ‘very well’ from his time at Liverpool.
On Monday, Gerrard took part in his first training session for Villa after being named as Dean Smith’s successor last week.
Whilst Gerrard only knows Villa from his playing days, it’s his assistant McAllister that is the only one to have previously worked at the club for a brief period under the late Gerard Houllier.
It even included the former midfielder taking charge of a few games.
Nonetheless, Gerrard was asked about the surroundings at Villa, picking the mind of McAllister, as he namechecked the likes of Ings and Young.
“Coming to Villa, competing against Villa for many, many years,” said Gerrard. “I know the size of the club and the standards that are already here.
“I know many of the players. I played with England. I played with Ashley Young, who I spoke to this morning.
“I know Danny Ings very well from my time at Liverpool from when I was a coach, so I have done a lot of homework and education around the club.
“But having Gary as my assistant, of course, he spoke very highly of, not just the club, the size, the history and the tradition. But the people. They are very supportive, very welcoming and as I say, the club sells itself.”
The biggest test of Gerrard’s career now awaits him and one that if he gets it right, it will put his name into the legendary books of Aston Villa.
The first task is just to try and lift the morale around the place because the club have lost five matches on the bounce.
Putting three points on the board against Brighton will help matters hugely, equally with a now hungry and eager Villa Park crowd waiting to push their team over the line on Saturday.
But, over the long term, it’s about getting Villa into Europe on a consistent basis again and putting trophies into their cabinet.
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