Steven Gerrard said his first match as Aston Villa manager “can’t come quickly enough” as he prepares for the visit of Brighton on Saturday.

The 41-year-old left Scottish champions Rangers to take the helm at the Birmingham-based club, who sacked Dean Smith last week after five successive league defeats.

Villa are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone, after 11 games but Gerrard is raring to get going.

“The excitement levels are really, really high,” former Liverpool midfielder Gerrard told VillaTV. “I’m very hungry, very ambitious and the start can’t come quickly enough.”

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

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