Steven Gerrard happy to keep making big calls at Aston Villa

The boss tweaked his team’s approach by pairing Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins up front at Brighton on Saturday and it paid dividends as his team claimed just their second win in nine matches.

But while pleased with the results, Gerrard did not rule out shuffling the pack again when Villa host Southampton this weekend.

He explained: “Just because it worked on Saturday does not mean we are always going to use this system and this way.

“We have to have different ways and different answers off the pitch. There are a lot of things this team needs to work on and I need to work on to get where we want to get to.”

Watkins scored to end a seven-match goal drought after being recalled in place of record signing Emi Buendia.

The latter did not make it off the bench but Gerrard insisted his selection decision had nothing to do with the Argentina international’s form or fitness.

He said: “We decided we only needed one No.10 at Brighton and I think Phil (Coutinho’s) performance justified my decision. I thought he was outstanding.

“The game and the substitutions required different things and it was nothing personal. Emi is fit and good to go.

“We went with one No.10 and two nines because we wanted the goals on the pitch in Danny and Ollie.”