Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, Jermain Defoe has been discussing Steven Gerrard and what he’s like as a manager.
Defoe, of course, worked under Gerrard during his time at Rangers, and he gave some interesting insight into how the current Aston Villa boss would try to get the best out of his players.
The striker says that Gerrard would often be clever in his team selection in order to keep everyone on their toes and try to get the best out of every single player.
The ex-Spurs man also said that he could see Gerrard going to the very top of management due to the fact he has such a presence and knows how to speak to his team.
What’s been said?
Defoe spoke about the Aston Villa boss.
“He’d say things to me and I knew he’d try to get a reaction. He’d be really clever. Say for instance, Alfredo Morelos would play and score two goals, he’d tell me ‘you’re playing the next game.’ That’s pressure now, I had to go and score and we had to win. But he was so clever with the way he did things,” Defoe said.
The ex-Rangers man was then asked if Gerrard can be a top manager.
“I think he could because he’s got presence and he knows what to stay to players. Every day in training it’s high standards, he puts a lot of pressure on the forwards,” Defoe said.
Got what it takes
Defoe says that Gerrard has what it takes to reach the top level in management, and we tend to agree with him.
Yes, he’s not doing a mind-blowingly transformative job at Aston Villa, but look at what he has done already in his short coaching career.
He’s led Rangers to an invincible title-winning season, while at Villa, he’s transformed the fortunes of some players who were completely written off such as Philippe Coutinho.
His time at Rangers showed he knows how to win, and his work at Villa has shown that his style can translate to the Premier League.
It may just be a matter of time before Gerrard gets a top job, and with Liverpool always strongly linked, that move to Anfield could be in the pipeline.
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