Steven Gerrard 'trouble' at Aston Villa revealed as outcast tells all over struggles with former Rangers boss

07.04.2023 - 06:57 dailyrecord.co.uk

Thankful Bertrand Traore has waxed lyrical about Unai Emery's Aston Villa impact after revealing his woes under the guidance of Steven Gerrard.

The 27-year-old winger was a peripheral figure under the former Rangers manager's watch and Gerrard allowed the Burkina Faso international to join Istanbul on loan.

But the Liverpool legend exited stage left in October amid a rotten Villa run and now Traore is back and thriving after his stunning late winner downed Leicester with Villans' dreaming of Europe.

And Traore admits he's bursting with confidence working with Emery after enduring a rocky relationship with Gerrard during his ill-fated 11-month stay in the West Midlands.

Rangers Trouble as Villa Steven Gerrard Unai Emery Burkina Faso Istanbul

Unai Emery is relishing the prospect of playing Manchester United this weekend as Aston Villa close in on the European places. Emery was appointed as Steven Gerrard's successor in October and the Spaniard comfortably won his first game in charge against United at Villa Park, overseeing a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey.

Tyrone Mings ensures things get better for upwardly-mobile Aston Villa

Aston Villa continued their push for Europe as they moved up to fifth place in the Premier League with a 1-0 home victory over Fulham.

Tyrone Mings keeps Aston Villa on track for Europe with Fulham winner

Aston Villa returned to winning ways against Fulham to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches and fuel their hopes of staging a spectacular finish to the campaign. Perhaps the biggest compliment to pay Villa is that, while this game did not pan out as comfortable as they would have hoped, they never really looked like conceding, let alone losing.

How Unai Emery has transformed Aston Villa into European contenders

T here is an image on Unai Emery’s Instagram of the Aston Villa manager immersed in his work after victory at Stamford Bridge this month that speaks to his dedication to his job. Emery is staring into his laptop, right hand clasped to a wireless mouse. It is a snapshot that chimes with the workaholic and obsessive coach known to regularly rack up 16-hour days. Emery often cuts his own clips of games to review with players individually and sometimes watches back Villa’s matches up to five times to prepare feedback for his staff and squad.

Ollie Watkins personifies Aston Villa’s dramatic revival under Unai Emery

With so much focus on Brighton and Brentford this season, Aston Villa have crept quietly into the European places. The decision to sack Steven Gerrard and appoint Unai Emery as his successor has proven a masterstroke, with their resounding 3-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend even fuelling talk of a dramatic late surge for a top-four finish. It was their fifth win in a row – their best run in the Premier League since they did the same under John Gregory towards the end of the 1997-98 season.