A major occasion beckons for former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard as he prepares to take his Aston Villa team to Liverpool at the weekend.
It’s now almost a month since Gerrard stunned Bears by leaving Glasgow for Birmingham at short notice.
He took over at a club on a five-match losing streak and has made an impressive impact.
The Villains have won three of their first four matches under the ex-Gers boss, with their only defeat to date coming to champions Manchester City.
Helped by how even more outstanding Gio van Bronckhorst’s start has been at Ibrox, the anger at the manner of Gerrard’s exit is subsiding for many supporters, with the 41-year-old recently explaining his reasons for leaving in more detail.
Therefore, while a tough-looking trip to Hearts in the Premiership will undoubtedly be the main focus for Bears this weekend, plenty will be keeping an eye on how the ex-Rangers gaffer gets on at Anfield.
It’s his first return to his old stomping ground as a manager but he isn’t focusing on himself in the lead-up to the 3pm kick-off on Saturday.
“It’s for me to deal with in terms of emotions and all that,” he said [Daily Mail]. “But I see it as being very much about the team and preparing them in the best possible way and we’ll be trying to get a result at Anfield. I certainly won’t be making it about me. Other people might, but I can’t control that.
“For me, it will be about the team having the confidence and belief that we can take something from the game. There are no sentimental thoughts ahead of it.
“I just want to go there and win. We want to make it as difficult as we can.”
Nine points from a possible 12 under Gerrard have taken Villa to tenth in the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone and eight points off the top four, but despite their strong form, it’ll be tough to stop a rampant Liverpool side who’ve scored eight goals and conceded none in their last two home league games.
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