Aston Villa: Gerrard has 'freed' £20m star at Villa Park

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard was right to strip Tyrone Mings of the captaincy, believes journalist Pete O’Rourke.

Gerrard said doing so would help the central defender to focus on his game, and O’Rourke thinks the Villa Park faithful are seeing just that.

Before the new season kicked off, it was announced on Villa’s official club website that John McGinn had replaced Mings as team captain.

Speaking on the matter, Gerrard said: “Naturally, I have had to have a discussion with Tyrone Mings and have explained my reasons for making this decision.

“More importantly, I believe that not having the responsibility of the captaincy will allow Tyrone to focus more on his own game which can only benefit him and the team.”

Mings also went on to lose his starting place, failing to pick up a single minute in the Villans’ opening fixture this term, a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth. Since then, though, he has been restored to the side and has helped the Midlands club to pick up wins against Everton and Southampton.

With Mings now performing, O’Rourke thinks Gerrard taking the captaincy away from the 29-year-old was the correct decision.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “Maybe Gerrard was right in the end that taking the captaincy off him would free him up to concentrate on his football and everything else because it does look like he is getting back to his best form, which can only be positive news for Villa.”

Gerrard will be hoping so, with Diego Carlos set for a long spell on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles tendon. To then not be able to rely on Mings would be a huge blow for the former Rangers manager.

Mings, who cost Villa £20m when he joined from Bournemouth permanently over three years ago, is an England