Aston Villa coach, Steven Gerrard has clarified that his managerial role at Aston Villa isn’t a stepping stone for his aspiration to coach Liverpool in future.
Steven Gerrard was appointed as Aston Villa coach in November after agreeing to leave Scottish champions Rangers.
Villa are set to host Brighton in Gerrard’s first match on Saturday and his emotional reunion with Liverpool comes at Anfield on December 11.
The Liverpool legend has never hidden his ambition to manage the club he captained to Champions League glory in 2005 and FA Cup success a year later.
But Gerrard is adamant his move to Villa Park after three and a half years in Glasgow was not motivated by taking another step closer to his Liverpool dream.
“It’s very unfair to describe this as a stepping stone, you will never hear me say that,” Gerrard told reporters at his first Villa press conference on Thursday.
“I’m all-in and I will give this job all it needs to be successful.
“The opportunity to be back in the Premier League and the opportunity to be back close to my family are the two reasons this was right for me.
“I am 100 per cent committed and so are my staff. There is nothing wrong with having dreams and aspirations.”
While Gerrard was keen to distance himself from Anfield for now, he remains in contact with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after working with the Reds’ youth teams before taking his first managerial job at Rangers.
“Liverpool have a world-class coach in Jurgen Klopp. If he was to sign a lifetime deal right now I would be very happy for him and them,” Gerrard said.
“I’ve been in touch with Jurgen since day one. We live in the same area and I bump into him when he’s walking his dogs.
“He sent me a message saying he was looking forward to a big hug on the side on December 11 and it’s something for me to look forward to as well.”
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