Steven Gerrard spoke to the media on Friday morning to give his first press conference of the 2022/23 season ahead of Aston Villa’s opening-day trip to AFC Bournemouth.
The head coach sat down at Bodymoor Heath to discuss what he expects from the Cherries, coming up against Scott Parker, targets for the campaign ahead, naming John McGinn as captain, the transfer window, Carney Chukwuemeka’s departure, the latest team news and much more.
Here’s what he had to say…
On team news…
“It’s really positive, we’ve had a positive pre-season. We’ve had a couple of niggles within the last seven days – Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendía to name a couple, but we have a full squad available who trained yesterday. If they get through today’s session, we should have a full squad to pick from. Kortney Hause is still not back with the team, Keinan Davis is back with the team and the plan is for him to get some minutes in the U21 game later on. Outside of those two, we’re fully fit and ready to go.”
On coming up against Scott Parker…
“I have faced him once as a manager, it was for Liverpool U18s and Tottenham U18s, but I shouldn’t have told you that because he actually won that game! I really enjoyed my battles against Scott as a player, he was very competitive, really good player. I partnered him a few times for England as a midfielder, really enjoyed being around him, he’s a fantastic man. He’s done ever so well as a young coach, which is great to see. And I’m really looking forward to coming up against him in real football, the Premier League is the biggest league in the world, first game, it’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to it, competing against him again.”
On targets for the season…
“I don’t think it makes any sense for me to sit here in the first press conference of the season and start setting external targets, we have internal targets we want to achieve, I’ve said that many times. We want to try and win every game we come up against this season, we want to improve, for sure, on our 14th finish last year. I think now having a full pre-season and a positive window so far to try and strengthen the group and the XI. We’re very much looking forward and trying to improve our league position and finish in the top half of the league, we want to have positive cup runs as well. We want to try and make our fans happy.”
On naming John McGinn as captain…
“I think it’s been really smooth, and I think that’s credit to Tyrone’s reaction. I spoke to Tyrone first before I spoke to anyone else face-to-face, I gave him my reasons and some of those will remain private, I think that’s fair. I inherited Tyrone as captain when I took this job in November and I always wanted to name a full-time captain, one that’s my captain and my decision. I analysed the group really closely on and off the pitch and I’m really happy and content with my decision. I think John McGinn is universally respected, he’s been around the club for a long time, the fans adore him, everyone around Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park has major respect for John, his peers have, he plays with consistency, he’s my type of player and they’re a few reasons I decided to go with John. It doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to be a starter in this team, I’ve made that really clear to John, I need that consistency to stay and I need him to really push this team. But I’ve really been impressed with Tyrone’s reaction, he’s trained well since, had a bit of a niggle that he’s hopefully got over and he’ll be available for the weekend.”
On pre-season and the transfer window…
“I think we’re in a market that’s not really moving rapidly quick, so for us to get in so early and for me to get the support and backing from the owners, Christian and Johan, for us to pounce and execute four or five pieces of business was very important. As a manager, you always want your players in as early as you can to try and get a full pre-season and get used to the environment, style of play and team-mates. I thought going away for two weeks and living together as a group, on and off the pitch, I think we’ve bonded and become a lot closer as a team and as a staff. I’m really impressed with the backing and support I’ve had from the owners and people forget how quick and efficient we were, and the standard of player we brought in. So I’m really happy with where we are right now, there’s still just over three weeks left in the window and we’ll try and do a little bit more shaping to try and make sure we’re ready to go. I don’t agree that the window carries on after the season starts but it is what it is and we’ll always have an eye on the market and trying to shape our squad, ins and outs, from now until the end of the window.”
On Carney Chukwuemeka’s departure…
“I really enjoyed working with Carney, he’s obviously a big talent, someone who’s got big potential. I think the Academy boys and when we came in, we worked ever so hard to work on his development and shape him, try and polish him up, so Chelsea are getting a big talent. We wish him well and we move forward.”
He continued: “We’ve got a lot of talented players and we’re committed to trying to get as many through, committed to give pathways them to get first-team football. The door was open for a pathway for Carney, for sure, there was a lot of hard work and attention to try and get him signed up here, but I’m really happy I got the support from the owners, Christian and Johan, and we also needed to set a precedent that no-one is as big as the club or the Academy. And if someone isn’t committed or prepared to commit to the club, the supporters and the journey then we have to give them the opportunity to go somewhere else.”
On facing AFC Bournemouth…
“I’m expecting an energetic stadium, I know the capacity isn’t one of the biggest in the Premier League but it’s a really tight crowd there, they’re on top of you. It’s a tight pitch, I know Scott, he’s very competitive, they should be full of confidence after their promotion last year and they’ve made some new signings to freshen the squad up. So we expect a really tough game. Every game in the Premier League is a challenge and tough, especially away from home, first game of the season. So the stage is set, the challenge is going to be tough and tricky, but I feel like we’re ready and it’s been very much about us in our preparation and I’m looking for the best version of us.”