Steven Gerrard 'not afraid' of brutal Aston Villa transfer decision after warning

Ex-Aston Villa striker Kevin Phillips thinks his former club could be in store for a summer clearout as Steven Gerrard continues to assess the players in his squad.

The former Rangers boss took charge of Villa some three months ago and after an encouraging start, Gerrard's side have only won one game in their last seven. Villa have also failed to beat Brentford, Leeds, Newcastle and now Watford since the turn of the New Year.

A 1-0 defeat to Watford - who travelled to Villa Park without a Premier League victory since November - on Saturday afternoon condemned Villa to their 13th league loss of the campaign, with only the Hornets and Norwich City tasting defeat more times this season.

The Villa head coach said after the defeat to Roy Hodgson's side: "I have had a really honest conversation with the players. We need to wake up and wake up fast because our recent form and performances are way short of what is needed to move up this table."

Gerrard would have expected a positive second half to the season off the back of a strong January transfer window as Villa recruited the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne.

He also freshened the squad up by allowing up to eight first-team players to leave on loan, including Matt Targett and Trezeguet.

And Phillips has tipped Gerrard to continue re-shaping his squad in the summer, starting with midfielder Morgan Sanson who has only started two Premier League games this season.

“Steven Gerrard’s clearly not afraid to make the big calls and big decisions,” Phillips told Football Insider.

“He let Matt Targett go when he brought Lucas Digne in after Targett was player of the season last year.

“He’ll do what is right for the football club going forward. If you’ve got a player who