Steven Gerrard urges Aston Villa to 're-discover their grit' ahead of Manchester United double header
Steven Gerrard has urged Villa to rediscover some ‘grit’ as they prepare for a double-header against Manchester United.
Villa travel to Old Trafford for an FA Cup third round tie on Monday night before hosting the Red Devils in the Premier League the following Saturday.
After winning four of his first six matches in charge, Gerrard has lost the last two and is demanding better from his players as they look to get back on track.
Asked about the prospect of facing United twice in six days, the former Liverpool captain replied: “I’m excited about that and always have been. I just hope my players feel the same way. They are two great fixtures, an opportunity in the Cup and an opportunity in the league.
“We need to respond. We need to react and find some of the grit we had in the earlier fixtures because it seems to have been missing in the last two.”
Villa have conceded five goals in defeats to Chelsea and Brentford, the same number they let in during Gerrard’s first six matches at the helm.
He continued: “Grit is the word. We showed a lot of grit in the opening games and a lot of fight.
“The second goal (against Brentford) was a catalogue of errors and there is no grit or fight in there. No-one was showing the right aggression.”
