Aston Villa skipper Tyrone Mings says manager Steven Gerrard is pushing the squad to new limits.
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Published 09/02/2022 at 11:00 GMT
Aston Villa skipper Tyrone Mings says manager Steven Gerrard is taking the club's players to limits they "didn't know they could go to". Gerrard has overseen an upturn in Villa's fortunes since taking over in November, putting the club 11th in the Premier League table ahead of their encounter with Leeds on Wednesday night.
Steven Gerrard has had a big impact since taking the reins at Villa Park
Image credit: Getty Images
Tyrone Mings believes Steven Gerrard has already taken Aston Villa's players to new limits despite the Liverpool legend only joining the club in November.
Villa - 11th in the Premier League table ahead of their encounter with Leeds United on Wednesday night - were in an altogether worse predicament in the final throes of Dean Smith's three-year reign, languishing just two points outside the relegation zone and on a run of five successive defeats.
Mings also found himself out of the side, but Gerrard's arrival has re-energised the England centre-back and seen him restored as skipper.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mings said: "Steven Gerrard the manager is pushing us to limits that maybe some of the team didn’t know we could go to.
"We’ve had the emergence of some really good young players while for some more established players, their game has gone to another level.
"It’s absolutely brilliant [working with him].
"There are times when you can see Steven Gerrard the captain. Sometimes when he joins in training he still has that winning mentality on the pitch.
"As a manager he’s fantastic. He’s crystal clear in terms of how he wants us to play, the team he wants us to be and the values he wants us to stand for.
"When the messaging is so clear, you know exactly what you’re buying into, how to buy into it and how to deliver what he wants. And then when you step on to the pitch, it’s up to you whether you do it or not."
Gerrard's presence was crucial to Villa getting a loan move for Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho over the line - the pair being former team-mates at Liverpool - and Mings revealed the impact the Brazilian has had on the group.
He said: "It gives everybody a lift that Villa can attract that calibre of player. We see what a fantastic player, but more importantly, what a great human he is. He’s blended into the group seamlessly. I think it says a lot about him that he wanted to come and push himself again in the Premier League.
"In the three years I’ve been here I’ve seen a huge turnover of players and now a managerial change, but what hasn’t ever changed is the fact that this club needs to and should be back in the top half, and eventually the top quarter, of this league.
"The players we’re bringing in now show how far we’ve come but we’re still a fair way away from the team we want to be. And that is exciting in itself.
"It’s been far too long since Villa had silverware and a period of sustained success and I think that’s what the fans deserve and the owners and the club demand.”
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