Steven Gerrard opens up on 'losing control' at Aston Villa
Steven Gerrard has opened up on the frustration of “losing control” during his final weeks as Villa boss.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder was sacked three years ago this month with the team perched just above the Premier League relegation zone.
Reflecting on his 11-month reign as head coach when speaking to his former Three Lions team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, Gerrard recalled how things quickly spiralled in the opening months of the 2022-23 season.
Villa had finished 14th the previous campaign after Gerrard replaced Dean Smith in the hotseat.
He told the Rio Meets podcast: “The first six months at Villa I felt like we had control of it and we had Villa maybe where we should have them.
“The stats were saying we had them in the top eight or nine teams in the league from taking them at 17th.
“But I lost control of it quickly and I found it hard to get it back. That was tough and frustrating.
“That is the difference between being a player and a manager. You are managing a dressing room, characters and different personalities.
“The three different groups I’ve had have all been different.”
Gerrard was sacked after Villa won just two of their first 11 Premier League matches of the season.
He said: “I found the last six or seven games really tough.
“I felt like I could not pull it back. It is frustrating when you are in that position. You are doing your best, you are even doing more, working harder and doing more and you just can’t pull it back because you know the dressing room is maybe not going to help you pull it back.”
