Steven Gerrard copies Liz Truss with interview claim as Aston Villa sack looms | Football | Sport
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard appeared to emulate Liz Truss by insisting that he is a fighter and not a quitter after his side’s defeat at Fulham on Wednesday evening. The west Midlands club shipped three goals to ramp up the pressure on Gerrard after a lacklustre start to the campaign, with the 42-year-old’s position as manager seemingly hanging by a thread.
Gerrard was relentlessly targeted by the Villa fans in attendance at Craven Cottage during the latter stages of the contest, which saw his side remain one place outside the Premier League’s drop zone after picking up just nine points from 11 matches. The Villa boss had been widely tipped for the sack in the build-up to the match but gave a defiant answer when quizzed on his future after the final whistle, although it drew plenty of similarities to a claim Truss made in the House of Commons just a day before her resignation as Prime Minister.
“It’s tough but I’m a man, I accept it and I understand it [the fans turning on him],” Gerrard told Amazon Prime Video. I can feel their frustrations, I’m frustrated [as well]. It was a tough night for me personally.
“We’ll see what happens, I understand the situation that we’re in. I’m a fighter, I’ll never, ever quit anything, certainly when it comes down to football or anything in life. We’ll see what happens.”
Just hours after the final whistle, it was confirmed that Gerrard had been axed.
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Gerrard was then asked in his post-match press conference if he had a message in mind for the supporters that would like him to be sacked, to which he replied: “Look, I’ve been sending messages to fans for the last few weeks because I certainly share their frustrations and pain because I’m someone who’s honest.
“I know that they’re not enjoying it at the moment. I’m certainly not so we’ll see what happens moving forward. You know and I know we’re in a very difficult position right now.”
When quizzed on whether his players in the dressing room are feeling the heat to the same extent that he is, Gerrard added: “I think we’re in a position where we should all be feeling the pressure. That’s the reality of the Premier League.
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“Everyone should be feeling it if you care about the club, the fans. But I’ve been trying to take as much away from my players to make them play with freedom. I certainly haven’t asked them to do anything like that on the football pitch, that’s for sure.”
Villa have won just eight of their 31 matches in all competitions since the beginning of the year and Thursday’s defeat seems to have intensified the pressure on Gerrard’s shoulders, with the former Liverpool midfielder having lost the backing of a large number of fans over the last few weeks.
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