Stevie geed up to face ‘world-class’ players

STEVEN GERRARD is ignoring any talk of an Old Trafford crisis – saying he’s preparing to face the best.

Aston Villa’s chief will take his place in the away dugout at the Theatre of Dreams for the first time as a manager tomorrow and is expecting the same rough ride that he experienced as a player with Liverpool.

Given his past association, the

Scouser will undoubtedly receive a hot welcome – but he has dismissed any suggestion that Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United are on the ropes.

He said: “I’m expecting a reaction from them. I watched the game against Wolves.

“There seemed to be a lot of frustration about the place. I listened to the manager, he was disappointed with the result.

“The fact is, they have got world-class players. It’s a real tough fixture for us.

“We won’t approach this like there’s a crisis going on at United. We’ll be preparing for the best possible Manchester United because this is a team that’s going to be littered with high-end players.

“It would be foolish and naive to think we are going to play a weak team that’s having a hard time. I just don’t think that makes any sense for us to prepare like that, no matter what’s happening there.”

Honeymoon

Gerrard has one thing in common with interim United boss Rangnick – they both took over their respective roles when the season was well under way.

So far Gerrard has won half of his eight Premier League fixtures, stopping the rot that he inherited after previous boss Dean Smith had lost five on the spin.

Rangnick, by contrast, has lost one of five – but the manner of the defeat against

Bruno Lage’s Wolves caused consternation.

Gerrard says there is a finite honeymoon period for managers and that sooner or later they have to assume responsibility for results. He said: “I can say first-hand that it’s challenging to take over mid-season.

“Games are coming thick and fast. Manchester United also have European commitments. You have to find the right system and solution. You’ve got to get your identity across in such a short space of time.

“You also have to get people to buy in and respond to you. There’s all kinds of different challenges that smack you in the face. I’m a lot less experienced than the United coach. I can only speak about what I’ve faced. And you do normally get a new manager bounce.

“But after a certain level of time, it’s on the manager’s shoulders to make sure the team are putting in the performances.”

Gerrard goes into the tie giving it his full attention, saying that he intends to field as strong a side as possible. But Rangnick is not the only one looking for a reaction. Last week’s 2-1 defeat to Brentford displeased Villa’s boss. He said: “For the first time we came away with some regret and disappointment because we’d had four previous wins – good wins – and even the challenges against the top three gave enough for us to be positive about.

“But if I could point to one game where I’ve learnt more than others it would be Brentford. There were a couple of ingredients we were missing in terms of our game management and leadership.”