The pressure is mounting on former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa as poor performances and poor results see plenty at Villa Park turn on the Liverpool legend.
There can be no argument against the job Gerrard did with Rangers on and off the park as his presence at the club helped haul the Gers up off their knees.
Not only did Stevie G win 55 and stop Celtic from winning 10IAR, but he oversaw much-needed development of the club off the park and introduced an elite-level mentality that hadn’t been seen at Ibrox for a generation.
The development in Europe was also quite incredible given where Rangers were when the Scouser took the reins and even if he left in a cloud of controversy, the success has been plain for all to see.
But at Aston Villa things haven’t quite gone to plan at times and now the former Liverpool and England captain sees his reputation being brought into question and fans doubting his Premier League prowess.
Ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard under pressure at Aston Villa
A stuttering 1-1 draw away to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest has done little to enthuse a support who’re becoming more apathetic by the game at present.
Even ex-Liverpool teammate and close personal friend Jamie Carragher was “politely” nudging him on Monday Night Football.
The result leaves Aston Villa in 16th, three points off the Premier League relegation zone and genuinely threatening to be hauled into a relegation dogfight this season.
Gerrard hasn’t been helped by injuries – three of his signings in Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Lucas Digne are all sidelined – whilst the exit of high-flying former Rangers assistant Michael Beale to QPR is sure to have had an impact.
Whatever the case, Steven Gerrard appears to be losing Aston Villa fans by the match and unless things turn for the former Rangers boss, the pressure might tell in the coming weeks and months.
Meanwhile, Rangers have moved to sign up one Academy graduate for whom there are majorly high hopes at Ibrox.
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