Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A REAL ACE IN THE DEC
Villa boss Gerrard hails midfielder: Rice has changed Hammers and should be compared to Fabinho and Rodri... not me
STEVEN GERRARD says Declan Rice is a worldclass talent who has transformed West Ham United – but he’s no Stevie G. The Aston Villa manager says Rice rates in the same class as stellar defensive midfielders such as Liverpool’s Fabinho and Manchester City’s Rodri, but says the 23-year-old Hammer is a very different player than he himself was at the same age.
Gerrard retired in 2016 following a glittering playing career, and, like Rice, was showered with praise for his dominant displays in the middle of the park.
The Villa boss played in attacking and defensive midfield roles.
Rice has developed into a box-to-box player.
But Gerrard said, ahead of today’s visit by West Ham: “Declan and I are very different midfielders.
“I don’t think it’s right to compare Declan to myself, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard or blah, blah, blah.” He laughed: “I’ll probably have a joke with Declan about this, but I think he’s got a little bit to go.
“He’s defensive-minded, and I obviously played that position a lot. I think he’s a real specialist as a connector, and as someone who breaks up the play.
“In that role, he’s right up there with the top ones at the job, your Fabinhos and Rodris.
“Declan deserves to be in that company for sure.
“I was very different at his age and a very different player.”
Rice has been linked with a move away from the Hammers, with Manchester United and Chelsea mooted as possible destinations. He has two years remaining on his contract but talk will intensify in the coming weeks if West Ham don’t improve the form that sees them rock-bottom of the Premier League, without a point or a goal.
Like Gerrard, Rice can take a
game by the scruff of the neck.
Liverpool and England legend
Gerrard added: “I think you can see that’s in Declan’s DNA and he’s helped transform West Ham.
“He’s driving them forwards to make them operate at the top part of the league, breaking up that top-six monopoly.
“To take West Ham to the semi-finals of the Europa
League, he was a big part of that, and of England as well. He’s contributed so well.
“He needs to keep doing what he’s doing – and from a personal point of view keep his standards as high as he can – he’s doing a good job.”
Describing Rice as “a top, top player,” Gerrard added: “He’s obviously going to be fresh going into the game with us but we’ve got good players as well, we’ve got good midfielders, we want to try and make it as difficult as we can for his team.”
Villa’s unconvincing start to the season has seen one win and two defeats, to make it just three wins in the past 14 Premier League games all told.
The midweek victory at Bolton in the Carabao Cup brought some relief.
Gerrard is focused on what he can influence, and said: “We’re aware in our analysis of the strengths of the opposition and areas we believe we can exploit. That is something I can control. I can control watching the opposition and analysing.
“What I can’t control is what people write about me or my team. That is going to happen whether you are playing well or not – there’s going to be noise.
“What I control is to do my job in the best way I can.”