Steven Gerrard has revealed he has rejected “exciting” offers including at international level, as he’s “waiting for the fight and fire to return” following his Aston Villa sacking.
Gerrard’s managerial career started in fantastic fashion. After getting up to speed with Rangers, he inspired the Scottish side to their first top-flight triumph for 10 years in 2020/21.
He was then offered the Villa job, when Dean Smith was sacked. He started well, piecing together a few wins in the first few games of his tenure.
At the end of the campaign, Villa were in 14th. The following season, results started to slip, and in October, with the side toying with the Premier League relegation places.
Gerrard is yet to return to management since being dismissed as Villa coach at the back end of last year. Indeed, he’s revealed he’s not yet got the passion back, despite having been offered some attractive roles.
“You have to reset, wait and be patient for the fire and fight to return,” he told The League Managers Association.
“I’ve been offered opportunities to manage at club and international level since I left Villa, including an exciting opportunity in an overseas league, but none have been right for me at this time.
“In the meantime, I’m enjoying being an Uber driver for my girls and my little boy.”
Despite the fact his spell at Villa wasn’t a major success, Gerrard feels there are positives to take from it.
“They gave me an opportunity in the Premier League and it was a successful experience initially because we achieved the remit of guiding the team away from the bottom of the table to safety,” he added.
“I’ve had time to analyse and reflect thoroughly on the challenges of our second season. In football, you have to learn from your mistakes and take strength from your successes.”
Given the learning Gerrard has done through his spell in English management, it sounds as if he’ll be ready to give it another crack soon.
That he’s got this time to reflect before taking another role should be a help for him. Indeed, he can look back at what he might have done wrong at Villa and think about what he can do differently in the future, before putting that into practice in another role.
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