Steven Gerarrd was in front of the cameras on Friday morning for his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's trip to Burnley.
The head coach spoke about a number of topics from Bodymoor Heath as he looks ahead to taking on the Clarets.
Here's what he had to say...
On team news...
“We’ve got a couple of issues. Leon Bailey won’t make the game. He left the pitch last week and unfortunately this game will come too soon.
“I don’t think we’re dealing with a serious issue, so I think he’ll play again before the season’s out but he won’t be at Burnley.
“We had an issue in training with young Jacob Ramsey as well, so we’re analysing his situation and he’s a big doubt as we stand.
“Morgan Sanson’s returned to training and he’ll come back into the squad. Kortney Hause is still unavailable.
“A few disappointing situations that we’re going to have to deal with in the next 24 hours. The rest are healthy and ready to go.”
On Tim Iroegbunam…
“He’s still learning his way, still very young and raw, but I’m really excited to work with him moving forward.
“We believe we can develop him, polish him up and shape him into a strong Premier League player.
“I’m not surprised that, again, the fans are excited about this one. We talk about Carney, JJ and Tim and there’s more brewing in the background.
“Myself and my staff want to give opportunities here at Aston Villa; we want to give pathways to young talent and we really believe in our academy. We’ve got some fantastic staff who are working really hard to move these players along the conveyor belt.
“Age, for us, is just a number. If they’re good enough and they deserve a chance, and they out-train senior peers within the group, they’ll be guaranteed opportunities here.”
On playing Burnley…
“Burnley have got their own style and identity, but I think it’s very disrespectful to say that Burnley just fight and compete.
“I’ve watched their last three or four games and they’ve got really good technical players, they’ve got a really strong mentality within the group and they’re desperate to stay in the Premier League.
“If they achieve that, they’ve probably punched above their weight compared to other teams, but that’s none of my business. My business is to take maximum points off Burnley tomorrow.
“We’ve analysed a good, strong team that are on a new manager bounce, but my priority is to make sure Aston Villa go there and get the win.”
On the final five matches of the season…
“We want to finish in a place where we can be satisfied – I don’t think we’re going to be happy or celebrating anything this season because the team, from the beginning of the season to now, has underachieved.
“In the remaining games, it’s about putting ourselves in a place that we can go and build on.
“We can try and strengthen in the coming window, have a positive pre-season and reset everything going into a brand new season. Those are the short-term priorities.”
