Steven Gerrard faced the media on Thursday afternoon to preview Aston Villa’s upcoming match against Southampton.
The head coach offered his thoughts on returning to Premier League action, facing off against the Saints and much more.
Here’s what he had to say…
On team news…
“We’ve got a few issues that we need to make late calls on. Ollie Watkins has been a little bit unwell at the beginning of the week, so we’ll make a late call on Ollie.
“Emi Martínez missed training today and we also had Robin Olsen out of training today. That doesn’t mean that they won’t be available tomorrow but again, we have to make sensible decisions on both.
“Jan (Bednarek) isn’t available because Southampton are his parent club. Outside of that, everyone is good to go.”
Elaborating on Martínez, Gerrard said: “He hasn’t been feeling too good overnight. I don’t think it’s a big issue. We’ve had him in front of the doctor and given him some medicine to hopefully make him feel better in the coming hours.
“I’ve got no doubt that he’ll pull through and I think he’ll be available.”
On the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II…
“From my family’s point of view, we’ve always been fascinated by the Royal Family. My mum and dad were the same. I would like to pay my respects.
“We’re lucky at Villa to have had regular visits from William and I’ve been lucky enough to meet Harry over the years due to England commitments.
“We’d like to pay our respects from a club point of view, and we’ll show that tomorrow night pre-game. I’m sure the fans will back that up during the game.
“Hopefully we can give a performance for the boys to be proud of.”
On the last outing against Manchester City…
“We want to make it a turning point but just because you perform well against a high-quality opponent, it gives you no guarantees. You’ve got to go and put in on the training ground, reset yourselves and then back that performance up.
“What we showed against City was that when we’re at our best, and our top players are close to their best form, we can compete against anyone in the league.
“What we need to do now is back that up. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ve turned the corner, one performance. The onus is on us and the responsibility is on me to prepare the team to put in a good performance tomorrow against a different opponent.”
On Ralph Hasenhuttl…
“I’ve been impressed with his work. I like the way he’s really positive with how he goes about it.
“They’re a pressing team. They’ve changed slightly and gone a little bit more direct this season. He likes to give youngsters a chance and play high-energy football.
“During his tenure they’ve had some really impressive results and faced some issues, like ourselves. When you’re building these projects, they take time and a lot of hard work and effort.
“I’m sure during his tenure he’s experienced what I’ve experienced during my short time at Villa.”
On facing Southampton…
“They’ve recruited really well, and he seems to be recruiting young players that are full of energy and have no fear.
“I worked with one of them, Joe Aribo, up at Rangers and I know what he’s capable of.
“They’re a dynamic team, they’re young and athletic. They’re capable of pressing in transition. They’ve gone a bit more direct and shown they’re up for the fight.
“The challenge is there for us – it’s an exciting one. For us, it’s very much game on.”
