Villa's Gerrard admits he's worried about job status

LONDON (AP) — Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard says “of course” he's worried about his job status. And that's before Manchester City visits on Saturday.

Everton is winless in the English Premier League this season under Frank Lampard. They host Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby.

Adding to a tough week for former England midfielders, Scott Parker was fired as manager of Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Gerrard hoped to escape Emirates Stadium with a point on Wednesday but Gabriel Martinelli scored the winner in the 77th minute in Arsenal's 2-1 victory. It was Villa's third straight league loss, leaving it on three points after five games.

The Liverpool great, hired last November to replace Dean Smith, was asked by BT Sport if he has concerns about his job.

“Of course I do,” Gerrard replied. “I'm really honest and self-critical of myself. I'll do my job to the best I can do, I'll step forward, I'll take the responsibility in the best way I can. But if I stood here and said to you that I wasn’t concerned, I think you'd look at me as if I was from a different planet.”

Villa needs to close down attackers and play tighter on them in the box, said Gerrard, who had a successful 3 1/2-year stint as coach of Rangers in Scotland.

“If we keep making these fundamental errors, we're going to find it hard to keep clean sheets," he said.

It will be a big concern on Saturday when defending champion City visits Villa Park in the nightcap. Erling Haaland already has nine goals after just five league games. That includes back-to-back hat tricks for the Norway striker.

Villa reportedly hoped to boost its defense by signing Belgium international Leander Dendoncker from Wolverhampton before the transfer deadline on Thursday.

City opens its Champions