Steven Gerrard wants Aston Villa obsessed with winning
Steven Gerrard has told Villa’s players they must be “obsessed” by winning if they want to compete in the top half of the Premier League next season.
The boss believes his squad should be hurting after an “unacceptable” 14th-placed finish. Work to strengthen the team has already begun in earnest with the signings of Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos with Gerrard keen to build a stronger mentality in the group.
He explained: “I want the players to be mentally stronger throughout the full game. I want players that are obsessed to win.
“I want us to really bottle the feeling of our inconsistencies this year and be really obsessed in pre-season to become better prepared, mentally and physically.
“I want winners in the dressing room. I don’t want players that are content to finish 14th in the league and going out of cup competitions early. That’s got to hurt.
“We’ll try and set a culture and a standard here where it’s not acceptable here to be inconsistent. That’s the challenge moving forward.”
Villa dropped 19 points from winning positions this season, including the final day 3-2 defeat at Manchester City.
Gerrard added: “We’ve remained in the Premier League and finished 14th, which is not acceptable and we’re not happy with that at all.
“Hopefully, during a full campaign, we can push up towards the top half of the league and really put pressure on teams pushing for places in the top half.”
