Steven Gerrard keen to sample some home Aston Villa comforts
Steven Gerrard has urged Villa not to rest on their laurels as they aim to end a three-month wait for a home win against Southampton on Saturday.
Last weekend’s victory at Brighton eased the pressure on Gerrard’s team after a run of just one win in eight matches.
But the boss is eager for them to follow it up against the Saints, who sit three places and five points above 12th-placed Villa in the Premier League table.
Villa have not won at home since beating Leicester on December 5, while they are also targeting back-to-back wins for the first time since Gerrard’s opening two matches in charge in November.
He said: “We need to build on Saturday’s positive win and we need to improve our home form. If everyone applies themselves like they did last weekend it gives us a better chance.
“It is a about resetting after every result. Win, lose or draw it is about focusing on the next one.
“The players were outstanding last week, recovering from a tough defeat against Watford.”
Villa had gone to Brighton with Gerrard under the first real scrutiny of his reign, following a haul of just one point from three matches against teams beneath them in the standings.
But the former England international, who has made no secret of his ambition to transform Villa into a Premier League force once more, insists setbacks are inevitable as he works to revive the club’s fortunes.
He said: “We took over this team when they were 16th in the league on the back of five defeats and we are going to have setbacks and periods where we need to stick together to keep working.
“We did that last week and we got our rewards today by executing a good gameplan and a good performance.”
