Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard would be ideal for the Aston Villa job, claims Arsenal legend Paul Merson… with the two ex-England midfielders in the frame to replace Dean Smith
- Dean Smith was sacked by Aston Villa following five consecutive defeats
- Steven Gerrard is the bookmakers’ favourite to take over the Villa Park role
- Villa will make a formal approach to Rangers to speak to Gerrard this week
- Ex-Villa player Paul Merson believes Gerrard would be the ideal manager
- But he also thinks former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard could be a good fit
Paul Merson believes Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are ideal candidates for the Aston Villa job.
Dean Smith was fired this week – the fifth managerial casualty of the Premier League season – after Villa suffered a fifth consecutive defeat at Southampton last Friday.
The club will now look for a replacement with Rangers boss Gerrard the bookmakers’ favourite and former Chelsea manager Lampard also among the frontrunners.
Steven Gerrard (left) and Frank Lampard (right) are among the favourites to take over as Aston Villa manager following the sacking of Dean Smith
Gerrard is Villa’s number one choice and has impressed their owners with his job at Rangers
Sportsmail reported on Tuesday that Villa will make a formal approach to Rangers to speak to Gerrard this week and want him in place for their next game against Brighton on November 20.
Merson, who played for the club between 1998 and 2002, believes both former England midfielders have their merits.
‘It’s going to be hard to prise Steven Gerrard away, he’s managing a massive club in Glasgow Rangers,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘He’s got them buzzing again; he stopped Celtic winning 10 in a row, they are in the Europa League, and they’ve got a chance of winning the Scottish Premiership.
‘Everyone wants to manage in the Premier League. That is no disrespect to the Scottish Premiership. Rangers and Celtic are bigger clubs than probably half of the teams in the Premier League.
Smith was sacked by Villa after losing five successive games in a row for his boyhood club
Former Villa forward Paul Merson believes Lampard or Gerrard could be the ideal fit
‘But it’s the Premier League, and when you start out managing, I’m sure in the back of people’s minds if you could get a job like Aston Villa – wow.’
On Lampard, Merson added: ‘He’s managed Chelsea, where he did a great job in steadying the ship at the time.
‘If you look at all the kids who have come through at Chelsea since, and then look at Aston Villa’s academy, it’s very good as well.
‘On Friday night, Dean Smith had five or six players from the academy in the squad for what was his final game. I would like to see a Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard get the job.’
Villa have lost their last five league matches and currently lie in 16th place in the top-flight
Villa are 16th in the table after their recent run of five defeats and just two points above the relegation zone.
While Gerrard is currently in his fourth season at Rangers, Lampard is currently out of management since his sacking by Chelsea back in January.
He has also been linked with vacant Norwich City job.