Steven Gerrard spoke to members of the Australian media on Saturday morning as he previewed Aston Villa’s Queensland Champions Cup opener against Leeds United.
The Club’s head coach gave his thoughts on a number of topics ahead of the game at Suncorp Stadium.
Here’s what he had to say….
On the tour so far…
“We’ve had a really strong week, really positive. I’m really happy with what I’ve seen on the football pitch and also the application and commitment off the pitch in terms of gym work and listening in the classroom.
“This has been an opportunity for us to really revisit our style and our philosophy of how we want to play over the course of the season.
“Every single one of the players has been all in both on and off the pitch, so I’m delighted with where we are. We’re a bit further forward than I imagined when we came out.
“We’ve got one more session prior to Leeds and we’re looking forward to the test against Leeds.”
On the changes in Villa’s style…
“I think you’ll see a few differences in terms of personnel because you’ll definitely see the new signings, they’ll play a part.
“You’ll see the players that have returned from loans getting some game time as well. We will use the whole pre-season in terms of the five games we’ve got In place.
“We’ll use all the games to try different things, we’ll tweak a few different things and become stronger at the things we were good at last year. We’ll also try and improve in some of the areas where we weren’t so strong.
“The idea is all to prepare as well as we can for the Bournemouth game, which is the kick-off in the Premier League. We want to win the pre-season friendlies, of course we do, but it’s not the priority.
“The priority is having the team and the squad healthy and having as many options as we can leading into Bournemouth.”
On Philippe Coutinho…
“You will see Coutinho tomorrow and I’d expect to see what you’re used to seeing, which is a real quality high-level performer.
“Phil joined us on the back of not playing much football. He ignited the place initially and he had a period where he was getting used to the speed and intensity of the Premier League again, which was normal and we expected that.
“Having the luxury of a full pre-season with Phil, having that five weeks as his base, I’m sure he’s going to have a fantastic season and I can’t wait to see him play again.”
On playing Leeds in Brisbane…
“It’s two great teams going head-to-head. We’re at the same stage of the season, we’re two rivals in the Premier League fighting for positions in that league once it starts, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re playing against a good team with a good manager, and this is his first pre-season as well so he’s wanting to maximise the time with his team.
“It’s all to play for. From a personal point of view, every time I’ve performed in front of Australian fans, they’ve never let me down. I expect noise, I expect energy and hopefully they enjoy the spectacle.”
