Steven Gerrard lashes out after 'really bad' Newcastle loss and hints at major Aston Villa changes

Steven Gerrard has criticised his Aston Villa players for their drab showing in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

Kierian Trippier bagged what proved to be the winner with a 35th-minute free-kick.

Ollie Watkins had an effort chalked out by VAR on the hour but, in truth, Villa were arguably the worst they've been since Gerrard took charge back in November.

Speaking to , Gerrard said: "A really bad day for us. I was surprised with the performance that we gave. There were no signs of that, certainly in the preparation.

"Look, collectively we need to improve. We've got a lot of work to do.

"We didn't deserve anything out of the game given the level of performance that we give. That's clear to me and some changes in the team need to happen as well.

"On the evidence of that, we're short in a lot of places. I think we slightly improved after the break and had a 10 to 15 minute period where we pushed but, in terms of what we created in the game today, that was a concern because I think we had one shot on target.

"I don't think Newcastle had to play ever so well to beat us. That's a big frustration as well. Obviously, the goal we conceded is poor from our point of view and our set-plays, for and against, were poor today so, listen, in a lot of ways we were way off it.

"The easy way out for me is to say things are going to take time. We want to see improvements now. There has been a lot of positives and excitement and good performances along the way so far. But, today, the frustrating thing is there were no signs of them steps in the right direction. We were poor in a lot of areas which is a concern.

"We've got to be careful that we don't get dragged down. We've got to have a purpose for every single game. Today, when we