Former Aston Villa manager backs Gerrard to turn things around and doesn’t rule out ‘top six’ chase

Steven Gerrard is under immense pressure to turn things around at Aston Villa, but Tim Sherwood still believes he is the right man for the job.

Aston Villa’s loss against Chelsea at the weekend leaves them 16th in the table and just one point above the relegation zone.

Considering the money that has been invested into this team, the expectations were high on Gerrard from the off.

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Gerrard’s side have only won two of their opening 10 Premier League matches. As a result of their slow start, Gerrard now seems to be running out of time at Villa.

Despite their troublesome form, former Villa boss Sherwood still believes Gerrard can turn things around.

He told talkSPORT: “I think he’s the correct man for the job I really do and I think it’s too early to talk about him losing his job.

“It is difficult, it’s a difficult environment. It can be the best environment at Villa Park. The crowd, they get with you and they call themselves the twelfth man up there and they can be.

“But you need some brave players when it’s not going your way, to be brave enough and go and get that ball in dangerous areas when the game is not on your side.”

Boos rang around Villa Park following their 2-0 loss to Chelsea this weekend.

Despite the loss, Aston Villa did produce a better performance and had 18 shots to Chelsea’s eight.

Sherwood thinks they can take some positives from the weekend and he isn’t even ruling out a chase for the top six.

He added: “I thought they were good against Chelsea, I really did. I thought they were very unlucky not to take maximum points.

“Kepa was outstanding and they missed chances again.

“Listen, those two games coming up are winnable games. If Stevie wins those next two games, they’re looking at top six.”

Next up for Gerrard’s side is a test against Fulham in midweek, before they host Brentford at the weekend.

Stretching back to last season, Gerrard’s side have now only won four of their last 21 league matches.

Villa finished last season in 14th place and they were expected to kick on this year.

During the summer they splashed out on the likes of Diego Carlos, Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara.

Gerrard’s side have been unfortunate with injuries so far, but they have fallen well below expectations.

Taking into consideration their average of 0.9 points per game, a challenge for the top six seems a million miles away, despite what Sherwood has suggested.

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