Being ‘too honest’ could eventually cost Steven Gerrard his Aston Villa job – Tim Sherwood
Tim Sherwood believes honesty could eventually end up costing Steven Gerrard his job at Aston Villa.
The former Rangers manager is under increasing pressure at Villa Park with a series of poor results leaving the side with just four points after the first six matches in the 2022-23 campaign.
Speaking live on talkSPORT, Sherwood was of the opinion that sometimes as a manager, you have to say things people want to hear.
“I think when Stevie came into the club, I was I was really taken by him,” he said. “I thought he was authentic. You know, when he speaks in front of the camera, you know, he gives the truth roof all the time.
“I thought the players would look up to him and I’m surprised. The start they’ve made, I think they’re a little bit out of balance.
“The squad not been helped by an injury to Carlos, I think he’s a big loss. And Steve, he’s had to make big decisions and he’s made a decision with the captaincy.
“With Tyra dropping out and with McGinn taking it over, I think it was a strange one from the outside, but you never know what’s going on inside.
“So normally as a manager, you just want to pick fights you have to have rather than try and find some.
“Stevie, at the moment, when I see him in front of the cameras, he’s very honest, almost too honest, and it doesn’t pay to be too honest as a manager.
“Sometimes you just got to tell people what they want to hear, but that’s where he wants to go. I always did it that way as well. Worn my heart on the sleeve and it takes it. So in the end you end up losing your job. I think he’s trying to take the pressure off the players, he’s trying to take all the onus on him.”
Big matches ahead
Villa entered the campaign hoping to have a better outing than the last time around where they finished in the 14th position with 45 points after 38 matches.
However, after the first six matchdays, the side are placed in the 17th position with just four points under their belt.
Those numbers are clearly causing a lot of discomfort at Villa Park and there have been rumours about the future of Gerrard as the manager of the club’s first team.
Next up for Villa will be an away fixture against a struggling Leicester City side and a positive result might ease some pressure on the former Liverpool manager whereas a negative result might end his short reign at the club.
The 42-year-old joined the club in November 2021 replacing Dean Smith on the bench at Villa Park.
Since then, under his management, the side played 35 matches across all competitions where they’ve only managed to win six times, 12 were draws whereas they were on the losing side 17 times [Transfermarkt].
In other Aston Villa news, £30million worth of shares have been pumped into the club to ensure any debts can be cleared heading into the meat of the season.