Alan Hutton: Pressure still on Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa despite Manchester City result
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton feels the pressure is still on Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard despite the positive result against Manchester City in Villa’s last Premier League outing.
Leon Bailey’s second-half equaliser earnt the Villans a well-earnt point against Pep Guardiola’s men to halt Villa’s poor early season form.
However, despite an excellent performance against one of Europe’s best teams, Hutton feels it’s the nature of the Premier League that Gerrard will be feeling the heat.
“The point against City will help but there is no getting away from it, it’s one of the toughest leagues in the world,” Hutton exclusively told Villa News.
“You are always going to be under pressure but he’s the type of guy who will probably thrive from that and he will want to show everyone what he is capable of.
“I think he’s got a squad there that is full of talent, it’s just about trying to settle that down in terms of formation players and different things.
“He needs to work towards the philosophy he wants at the club and it takes time, it’s not an easy fix.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a process and hopefully he gets given the time that is needed and starts a winning run come the weekend.”
Gerrard has certainly faced criticism in the opening months of the season with pundit Stan Collymore suggesting (via Twitter, 28 August) that Christian Purslow chose Gerrard as a “vanity” pick for the Villa hot seat.
The former Rangers boss will certainly silence a few critics should he pick up three points against Southampton on Friday evening (16 September) and build on point against Manchester City.
In other Aston Villa news, one of the Saints’ breakout stars of the season has been ruled out of Friday night’s clash at Villa Park.