Steven Gerrard is currently struggling as Aston Villa boss, but named Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta as examples to follow who have overcome such difficulties.
The Gunners have endured a couple of slumps under the reign of Arteta, with the press quickly moving to claim that his job had come under pressure when things got tough, but the club moved to stick by the Spaniard, and that looks to be paying in dividends at present.
We currently sit pretty at the top of the table, thanks to five wins from our opening six matches this term, but Villa boss Gerrard isn’t enjoying such success as his side have picked up just seven points from seven thus far.
‘It is the most demanding league in the world, in the bottom, the middle and at the top. It was the same when I played,’ Gerrard told Sky Sports (via the Metro).
‘It’s not always going to be the perfect journey and you’ve got to perform when the heat is on, when it’s tough. You’ve got to roll your sleeves up more and put yourself forward even more.
‘A lot of managers have shown that sometimes you’ve got to have tough periods, setbacks, and show that you can cope in them moments. Show that you can come through them, build on them.
‘You’ve got to be patient and try and get to the stage where the building process continues.
‘There’s a lot of examples of that – Ralph [Hasenhuttl] is one.
‘You’re looking at Mikel Arteta, obviously flying high now at the top of the Premier League now. I bet if you spoke to him, it wasn’t all about ups and fantastic times and enjoying it all.
‘But what he did do in the tough moments, he stepped forward.
‘I think that’s what we have to do as managers in these situations is show your players and supporters and internal staff that you’re all-in and ready for the demands, responsibilities and pressures and you’re going to try to perform to get your team through them.’
It seems a little crazy that our manager is being used as an example to others after such a small time in management, but he deserves it.
Things got really tough and he stuck by his guns and his philosophy and it really looks to have paid off thus far.
How far he can take us remains to be seen, but we are enjoying the journey monetheless.
Patrick
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