Steven Gerrard reveals pre-match message from Prince William after Aston Villa’s win over Southampton

Steven Gerrard revealed a pre-match message of support from Prince William following Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Southampton on Friday night.

The Prince of Wales, who is a Villa supporter, is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

A minute’s silence was held at Villa Park to pay tribute to the Queen before a rendition of the national anthem.

Speaking after the match, Gerrard revealed that William got in contact with the club earlier this week, saying: ‘He messaged in the week, to the club, and that shows everything about what he thinks of this club. For us to reward that with a result and clean sheet, I’m sure he will be proud.

‘It was along the lines of “would love to be there”. He is consistently in touch. He is very supportive of the boys individually, he loves them. It’s really impressive, his knowledge, and how much he is in to it.

‘It certainly took me back. He is very much involved in Villa. For him to message in the situation he is in is really impressive.’

It was a vital win for Gerrard and Villa, with the Liverpool legend under pressure following a slow start to the season.

But the victory has seen Villa rise to 13th in the table, now on seven points from their first seven games.

Jacob Ramsey netted the only goal of the game in front of the home fans at Villa Park.

Gerrard added: ‘Where we were before the game, in terms of our league position, it was about the result. It wasn’t pretty or stylish but was all about resilience, guts, character and owning the pitch.’

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Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: ‘We