Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has opened up about his time as Aston Villa head coach
Former Liverpool player and Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard
Former Liverpool player and Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard(Image: PA)
Steven Gerrard wishes he had a "couple of hundred" more matches under his belt as a manager before leaving Rangers and taking the Aston Villa job in 2021.
The Liverpool legend was sacked after just 11 months in charge, having led Villa to just 13 wins in 40 games.
He was dismissed with Villa sitting just above the relegation zone on goals scored, having won only twice in 11 matches in the 2022/23 campaign, before Unai Emery guided the club to European qualification.
Asked whether his move to Villa was fast-tracked, Gerrard admitted to Sky Bet: “Yes, possibly. I would accept that opinion. It's open to debate, because I'd done three and a half years in Scotland.
“My argument, my side, would be, well, how long do you do? But in hindsight now, for my own personal development and the decisions I made, I probably would have done more games in Scotland, or looked for something in between the Scotland level, with all due respect, before I went to the Premier League level.
“Because what I realised in my experience of being the Villa manager was, from a coaching perspective, when you're on your own or with your group of staff, it's a lot more brutal than when you play as a player.
“It can unravel extremely fast. It can shock you. So my advice to coaches, I don't know whether the likes of Frank (Lampard) and Michael (Carrick) agree with this, is experience is key. Get as many games as a coach and a manager as you possibly can before your opportunity comes.
“In my shoes, at that moment when Villa came, you're also thinking, could this be your only opportunity? So it's difficult and it's challenging. It pulls you in different ways. But in hindsight, if I could have my time again, I would get another couple of hundred games in.
“I'm just thinking about the likes of Sam Allardyce now, and Harry Redknapp, and Alan Pardew, ex-managers, my coaches, thinking, he's saying the right thing there, because you can't fast-track experience.
"You've got to go and get those games and those experiences and learn and grow. But these opportunities come, and when you get the call, you have to make that decision in the moment."
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