One of the reasons that Steven Gerrard managed to build a team capable of winning the league with Rangers is that, from the moment he walked into Ibrox, he commanded the respect of the entire squad, it would appear though, that this hasn’t been the case at Aston Villa.
Villa’s 4-1 demolition of Brentford immediately after his sacking would suggest that the players have more than played their part in getting him the boot and there have now been further revelations about what went on behind the scenes.
The Daily Record has reported on West Ham United’s Michail Antonio’s comments about messages he had received from players who were at the struggling Premier League outfit and that it was not all plain sailing for the former Gers gaffer:
“Honestly, what I’ve heard on the grapevine is that there were a few players who weren’t really having him.
“I’m not too sure how many there were but what I heard is that a few players weren’t really having him and didn’t like how he was. It wasn’t how he wanted to play, it was more how he was as a manager himself and how he dealt with the players. That’s what I heard.”
Ironically, man management is one of the areas that Rangers players praised him for so decisions like dropping Tyrone Mings as captain has obviously backfired to the extent that he was always up against it.
The biggest difference between the Villa players and the Rangers ones is that we were highly motivated, had a point to prove and wanted to succeed, all this shows is that they didn’t want to buy into their manager’s plans because he had ruffled a few feathers and dented a few egos – when a big pay packet and mid-table mediocrity is seen as a success, no wonder Gerrard struggled.