Ian Wright has stated that Steven Gerrard’s first press conference as Aston Villa manager felt ‘very tense’, as he told the Kelly and Wrighty Show on Premier League Productions (18/11/21 at 12:20 pm).
On Thursday morning, Gerrard was unveiled to the Aston Villa faithful for the first time, with CEO Christian Purslow next to him, as well as Sporting Director, Johan Lange.
Gerrard hasn’t even managed his first Villa game yet the talk around the media is about him becoming Liverpool boss.
That’s the typical disrespect Villa have been getting since his name cropped up on their radar and then he was appointed.
And to the surprise of nobody, Sky were front of the queue asking those questions about Liverpool to the legendary midfielder, but he rightly batted them away.
Wright shared his thoughts on today’s presser from Villa Park and the body language of all involved.
“Purslow looked like someone was staring over him,” said Wright. “It never felt like ‘wow, the enthusiasm and the excitement’.
“It felt like very tense. It felt very intense. What you see with Steven Gerrard once you got on the training ground is that he is at home.”
Tense or not, one thing is for sure, Gerrard has changed the mood around Villa and it was much, much needed.
Five defeats on the bounce helps no one’s morale, but the arrival of Gerrard has brought that added excitement and belief that things can move forward now.
It all starts with a home tie against Brighton at the weekend and this is a great chance for the Midlands club to turn their fortunes around.
There will be that extra buzz around Villa Park and that extra bit of aggression and fight from the players to get things off to the best possible start.
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