Aston Villa: Gerrard ‘learning’ valuable lesson at Villa Park

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is ‘learning’ to use his first-team squad ‘smartly’ at his moment in time, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Midlands outfit have endured a difficult start to the season under the 42-year-old tactician, who is already coming under pressure despite only being at the helm for 10 months.

Gerrard took over the reins at Villa Park last November but could only guide his charges to an underwhelming 14th place finish in the Premier League standings.

In his 35 matches in charge of Villa, the former Rangers manager has overseen just 12 victories, six draws and 17 defeats, earning an average of 1.2 points per game.

That tally is even more disappointing considering Gerrard has been backed in the transfer market, with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne and Boubacar Kamara all arriving on permanent deals.

And the benefit of a full pre-season has still not proved to be beneficial for Villa, who have picked up a mere four points from their opening six top-flight fixtures.

Inconsistency in Gerrard’s team selections and tactics have also perhaps not helped proceedings, yet they are reflective of the state the Villans are in at this moment in time and how desperate they are for their fortunes to turn.

The likes of Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings Leon Bailey, Ezri Konsa, Calum Chambers and Emiliano Buendia have all been in and out at some stage of this season as Gerrard tries to figure out his best side.

And Jones believes the upcoming international break could prove to be beneficial for the under-fire boss.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: “He needs to use them smartly; that’s what he’s learning. And I think that Gerrard, during the international break, can properly sit down and figure