MY ACCOUNT
Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard has conceded he is concerned about his position at the club amid a poor run of form.
A 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday marked Villa’s fourth defeat in the opening five matches of the Premier League season, sitting second last in the standings at this early stage.
Having been jeered by his own supporters following the loss to West Ham at the weekend, a third defeat on the bounce has increased the pressure upon Gerrard.
Premier League clubs infamously lack patience with those in charge, shown by Bournemouth axing Scott Parker with just four games played, and Gerrard admitted he fears he could find himself in a similar position.
“I am really honest and self-critical of myself. I will do my job the best I can, I will step forward, I will take the responsibility in the best way I can,” he said after the loss at the Emirates Stadium.
“But if I stood here and said to you that I was not concerned, I think you would look at me as if I was from a different planet.”
Villa’s loss to Arsenal will be all the more frustrating as Gabriel Martinelli scored the winner just 151 seconds after Douglas Luiz had equalised for the visitors, who may well have marked his farewell in style.
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with an exit before the close of the transfer window on Thursday and Gerrard was unable to offer assurances that he will stay.
“I’m not in control of that. There are more than two people in control of that but I’m certainly not one of them,” he added.
“That will be Douglas, that will be his agent’s decision as to what happens around that. I’d like to keep him because he’s a fantastic player. I’ve made that abundantly clear.
“We are not in a position where we need to lose our top players, but at the same time, Douglas has got a year to go, and it is one of those really touchy situations where the club have to do what is best for the club and not necessarily what’s best for me.”
