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‘What I’ve heard’: Michail Antonio shares what he’s been told Aston Villa’s players really thought about Steven Gerrard
what he’s been told Aston Villa’s players really thought about Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard was in charge at Villa Park for just under a year after replacing Dean Smith last November.
The English boss enjoyed a successful spell in Glasgow with Rangers, leading them to their first Scottish title in nine years.
But it just didn’t quite work out for the Liverpool legend in the Midlands and he was sacked last week after a 3-0 loss to newly-promoted Fulham.
Now, Antonio has claimed that he heard the Villa squad didn’t quite take to Gerrard as a person.
What Villa’s players really thought about Gerrard
“What I’ve heard in the grapevine is that there is a few players who weren’t really having him,” .
“I’m not sure how many. But what I’ve heard in the grapevine is that there were a few players who didn’t like how he was.
“It wasn’t how he wanted to play, it was more how he was a manager himself and how he dealt with the players. That’s what I heard.”
Gerrard was sacked after a poor start to the new campaign and Villa went on to thrash Brentford 4-0 just days later.
The Villains’ performance on the weekend would indicate that the players were no longer playing for Gerrard towards the end of his tenure.
Villa had been putting in some uninspiring displays before he was dismissed and the player’s cearly weren’t taking to his approach.
The Midlands club have now appointed former Arsenal boss Unai Emery and the Spaniard is set to take over at the beginning of next month.
The club will be hopeful that the players take to Emery a lot better than they had with Gerrard.
The former Villarreal boss enjoyed a successful spell in La Liga with the Yellow Submarine. He guided them to a Europa League title in 2021 and then to Champions League semi-final last season.
Emery will be keen to prove a point after being sacked by Arsenal back in 2019.