Villa’s Gerrard worried ahead of Man City clash

LONDON (AP):

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard says “of course” he’s worried about his job status. And that’s before Manchester City visit tomorrow.

Everton are 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 had 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 them on three points after five games.

The Liverpool great, hired last November to replace Dean Smith, was asked by BT Sport if he had 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 three and a half 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 tomorrow when defending champions City visit 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.

City open their Champions League campaign at Sevilla on Tuesday, so they may opt to rest some players tomorrow.

Villa’s lone league victory came against Everton on August 13. Lampard’s squad is still searching for their first win after two losses followed by three straight draws.

Everton winger Anthony Gordon has scored in consecutive games and appears to be staying put on transfer deadline day. Lampard said the 21-year-old Gordon, who reportedly was a target of Chelsea, is “too important” to the team to sell off.

Veteran defensive midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye rejoined Everton from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for an undisclosed fee yesterday. The Senegal international, who signed a two-year contract, played three seasons for Everton before joining PSG in 2019.

This is Lampard’s second stint as a Premier League manager. Chelsea’s record goal-scorer helmed his old club for 18 months before being fired in January 2021, replaced by Thomas Tuchel. Everton hired Lampard last January, and he helped the club avoid relegation.

After the derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool visit Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.