Steven Gerrard: Stand up and be counted
Bullish boss Steven Gerrard is confident he can turn Villa’s faltering form around as he called on players to “stand up and be counted” against Tottenham next weekend.
Gerrard is demanding a response after claiming some members of his squad were “still on international duty” during Saturday’s 2-1 derby defeat at Wolves.
The loss was Villa’s third on the spin, equalling their worst run since Gerrard replaced Dean Smith as manager and ending any chance of overhauling their Midlands rivals during the Premier League run-in.
He said: “The team have to respond from the three defeats, we have to stand up and be counted and try and put in a really big performance.
“Next week against top opposition, a 45-minute performance won’t get us what we need, what we want.
“We need to find that second-half performance (from Saturday) over 90 minutes. If we do it will give us a chance - no guarantees - but it will give us a chance.”
A dire first half performance at Molineux left Villa trailing 2-0 before Ollie Watkins’ late penalty gave them hope.
Gerrard said: “I’m frustrated. I’m hurting from the result of the game but I don’t feel low because I believe and I’m confident that we can fix it.
“I know I’ve got good players and the core of a good team but for sure I know there is work to do. I don’t feel low, I feel disappointed in the result and the outcome because we haven’t had a 90-minute performance from the boys. I felt a few of us were still on international duty.”
