Sports journalist Pete O’Rourke believes that Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard isn’t scared to make wholesale changes at Villa Park.
Gerrard has already proven that he is willing to make changes if he feels something isn’t right, in the form of shipping off Matt Targett in order to bring in Lucas Digne from Everton.
O’Rourke told GiveMeSport that this is a way of Gerrard keeping his players “on their toes”, and has identified that he isn’t scared to make changes.
“I think it’s just Gerrard trying to keep the players on their toes, and he won’t be afraid to make a few changes, as he’s already shown,” O’Rourke mentioned.
Gerrard has come into Villa Park after proving his worth as a manager at Rangers, and Villa will presumably still be backing their man on whatever he thinks is best at this stage of his tenure.
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Gerrard has already implemented his own style at Villa and it is evidently working, as he is getting the best out of players like Jacob Ramsey.
The former Liverpool player has a clear way of playing and relies on his full-backs getting involved in attacks, much like he did at Rangers with James Tavernier, after he registered 18 goals and 11 assists in all competitions under Gerrard last season.
Gerrard saw Matt Targett’s capabilities and felt the left-back area needed to be improved immediately, so he brought in attacking full-back Digne to replace the more defensive-minded Englishman.
Villa have the right to trust Gerrard on his decisions after he has brought a new level of attraction to the club because of his career as a player and connections within the game. This was proven after it was announced that Philippe Coutinho would join him at Villa Park in January.
What Gerrard has in store for Villa remains to be seen, but his start to life in the Midlands and O’Rourke’s comments suggest he will do whatever it takes to bring success to Villa Park.