Steve Gerrard welcomes sleepless nights as he ponders Aston Villa attackers
Steven Gerrard has thanked Villa’s attacking players for giving him restless nights as he ponders his best options up front.
Leon Bailey became the latest forward to get off the mark for the season when he scored in Tuesday’s 4-1 Carabao Cup win at Bolton.
Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins and Emi Buendia have also found the net in the early weeks of the campaign and Gerrard admitted to having lost some sleep when it comes to making team selections.
But he added: “I think it is good when you lose sleep thinking about good players and who you are going to play.
“It is worse when you lose sleep because you haven’t got the options or you’ve got injuries or suspensions. I’ve been in that situation.
“Losing sleep is not a bad thing when you are thinking about good players. It's no problem. I don’t sleep well anyway.”
Gerrard benefited from naming a strong XI as Villa came from behind to beat the League One Trotters and the boss confirmed his intention to target cup competitions.
He said: “When you aren’t involved in Europe and are playing games normally once a week, I think you should be aggressive and attack the League Cup and FA Cup. I think you saw it with our selection on Tuesday.”
Left-back Ludwig Augustinsson is expected to be available for Sunday’s home match with West Ham after missing the Bolton win with a minor knee injury. Teenage full-back Ben Chrisene is joining Kilmarnock on a season-long loan.
