Simon Jordan outlines Steven Gerrard ‘fear’ as he sets Aston Villa expectations

Former Premier League chairman turned pundit Simon Jordan has said that Steven Gerrard has ‘questions to answer’ as Aston Villa head coach as the former Liverpool man heads into his first full season at the club.

Gerrard arrived at Villa Park back in November, taking over from Dean Smith, who left the club after a poor run of form. Gerrard has been in charge for a total of 28 games winning 10, drawing five and losing 13.

He has been backed by the club in the transfer window, with Villa making early moves by making the loan signings of Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen permanent. Midfielder Boubakar Kamara, and defenders Diego Carlos and Ludwig Augustinsson to the club.

Villa make no secret of their desire to play European football sooner rather than later, but speaking on TalkSPORT’s one2one , Jordan believes that the club will have to wait a few seasons longer before breaking into the upper echelons of the Premier League.

“I think Villa will do well to get near the top eight, I think they’ve got to do better than they’re currently doing,” he said. “I was slightly unconvinced about Gerrard in Scotland, I become more convinced the more I see of him in the Premier League but I still think he has questions to answer and if they continued the way they finished certain aspects of last season, I fear that the Gerrard project may not be a long running one.”

The pundit has also laid out what he believes will be a successful year for Gerrard and Villa, with eyes on the future. He has however sent a warning about the competition for the top seven places in the league.

“If Villa get inside the top ten, I’d say you have to have an element of perception about success,” he added. “And then you have to determine what looks like