Steven Gerrard working night and day to make Aston Villa a force
Steven Gerrard has vowed to work ‘tirelessly’ to turn Villa into a Premier League force with midfielder John McGinn admitting players know their futures could be at stake.
Boss Gerrard is promising a big improvement next season and acknowledges supporters deserve better than to have their team sitting 14th in the table.
Significant changes are expected this summer, with Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski one of Villa’s primary targets.
Gerrard has previously warned he is prepared to replace underperforming players and McGinn confirmed the message has reached the dressing room.
He said: “The manager has stressed he will improve it if we don’t improve, personally and as a team. We will be the ones out the door because this club is going to go one way and that is up. It is whether we want to join in, improve and get this club into the top half. It hurts we can’t do that.”
McGinn continued: “The fans have been first-class and deserve a lot more. There are 20,000 on a waiting list to come and see us at Villa Park when we are essentially not delivering what we want to achieve.
“We are extremely disappointed. With the calibre of player we have we need to be doing a lot better.”
Gerrard believes Villa have been ‘lucky’ to receive the support they have from fans despite a largely underwhelming campaign, which saw them win just six out of 19 home league matches.
He explained: “I said to the players in the dressing room: ‘You are a lucky group and I am a lucky manager. We are 14th in the league at Aston Villa and the fans are here in their numbers cheering us on’.
“They have done home and away. They deserve more and we need to give them more. I can assure all of them we will work tirelessly in the coming weeks and months to be better prepared.
“People have had long enough to impress. The league table doesn’t lie after 37 games and it won’t after 38. Being 14th in the table isn’t good enough for this club and we need to address that.”
