Steven Gerrard has revealed the impact Aston Villa’s sacking had on him - and why he has regrets over ever taking the Villa Park job.
Gerrard made the switch from Rangers to Villa in November 2021 - having previously won the SPL title with Rangers.
But his time at Villa never really got going. He won just 13 of his 40 games in charge in all competitions.
Since then he has managed in Saudi Arabia - but is yet to make his latest return to the dugout.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap podcast, Gerrard explained why he has regrets over taking the Villa job - and how it was a bigger jump from Rangers than he initially expected.
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He said: “The level was a big jump. Probably didn't realise at the time when I made that decision. In hindsight again, we talk about hindsight, we'd all be great with hindsight, wouldn't we? Would have stayed at Rangers longer, more experience, stay up there for longer.
“So I regret doing it now, sitting here, I didn't at the time. It was tough. Also the conversations with Rangers after we won it, the recruitment and the finance chats that we were having, didn't feel like Rangers were ready to go again.
“It was a bit more of a like, ‘oh, let's settle this and fix that and do that.’ The promises weren’t as strong as I thought they would be. Then the Premier League offer and opportunity comes in, it's tough. It's tough to say no to that.
Gerrard in charge at Villaplaceholder image
Gerrard in charge at Villa
“I’ve got nothing bad to say about Villa. I need to get that in as well. Villa are a really good club, good people, fantastic facilities. The opportunity was given to me, and it didn’t work out, so that’s on me.”
Although tough for Gerrard, the sacking sparked a revival at Villa.
Unai Emery had taken over and within months Villa had gone from strugglers to Europe.
They then went on to qualify for the Champions League - and are back in the mix for the elite European competition this season.
Gerrard explained that the sacking had a big impact on him and left him feeling ‘useless’.
He said: “I have had some difficult times. Obviously, when you get the sack it is not nice.
“I had a period after Villa when my head was done in for months. I understood it. If you have a run of form like we did, the responsibility was mine and I accepted it.
“I was sitting around gutted because I felt like there was a big opportunity going into the first full season to build on a half-decent start. That was a tough one for me.
“I had mixed emotions. I was feeling sorry for myself. Felt a bit bitter. Felt a bit useless. You go through these emotions, but come round to understanding that it’s part of it.”
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