Steven Gerrard has pleaded for more time as Aston Villa manager with his first job after Rangers threatening to go awry.
The legendary midfielder left Ibrox last November after delivering the Premiership title back to Govan in 2021 but he's had mixed reviews since taking the hotseat at Villa Park. His club are currently 16th in the table and could find themselves in the Premier League's bottom three on goal difference today if they lose heavily against Chelsea and Southampton beat West Ham. It's led to mounting speculation over his position in Birmingham.
Former Rangers boss Gerrard says the circumstances where he found Aston Villa- hovering above the drop zone - have to be accounted for when reviewing his stop-start reign. He said: "I took over this team when it was 16th, two points off relegation off the back of five defeats. The team right now isn't that different. You can shape and support the players - but the reality is that the group doesn't look much different.
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"And that is a fact. It isn't different because we've had key injuries to big players. But when I first came into the job I didn't expect anything to be completely different after one or two windows.
"These situations and challenges do take time. But I'm also aware you don't get time because of results. It's my job to improve results so that I do get given more time.
"I don't want to be cut any slack, it's fine. I'll accept that and continue to do the job the best way I can. I'm asking for time."
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