Steven Gerrard was left 'disappointed and upset' by club's decision

Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa in October 2022 after a disastrous start to the season, and the Liverpool legend has spoken candidly about his disappointment over how his Villa Park tenure ended

Steven Gerrard has opened up on his time at Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)

Steven Gerrard has confessed he felt "disappointed and upset" about the manner in which his tenure at Aston Villa came to an end following his dismissal as head coach in October 2022.

The Liverpool icon, who secured the Scottish Premiership title during his maiden senior managerial position at Rangers, took over from Dean Smith at Villa Park in November 2021. The 45-year-old made an encouraging start to life at Villa, claiming victory in three of his first four games at the helm.

He guided the Villans to a 14th-place finish in his debut season and received financial backing the following summer, with the likes of Diego Carlos, Philippe Coutinho, and Boubacar Kamara among those bolstering Gerrard's squad ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. Yet Villa endured a catastrophic start to the season.

The West Midlands club secured just two victories from its first 12 Premier League fixtures, and it opted to dismiss Gerrard following a humiliating 3-0 loss at Fulham.

He was removed from his position with Villa languishing in 17th place.

Looking back on his spell at Villa, Gerrard, who recorded just 13 wins and eight draws from his 40 matches in charge, told TNT Sports' Ally's Social Club: "Going into the second season, I'm thinking, 'We've taken Villa from 17th to seventh, eighth, ninth.

Gerrard left Villa in 2022(Image: Getty Images)

"We're in a good place. We've made three or four really strong signings. Let's go for top 10, maybe have a go at the League Cup. If Europe happens, brilliant.

"We started the season really badly. We lost 2–0 to Bournemouth. We were poor - tactically poor, players didn't turn up - and it was a shock result. We bounced back against Everton, won 1–0, steadied it a bit.

"But when we lost momentum towards the end of October, I didn't feel like I could pull it back. I felt like I'd changed the dynamics and upset too many people in the dressing room too quickly, and that hurt me a lot."

Gerrard, who has been without a club since departing Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in January, continued: "I think there was a core group of players in the dressing room who pulled away from us as a staff.

"And interestingly enough, none of those players are in and around the starting XI now.

"Yeah, because Villa - from my experience with Villa - I've got a lot of respect for the fans, the club, the ground, the history and everything. Some of the players we worked with at Villa were top, top players - John McGinn - a manager's dream, on and off the pitch.

"Matty Cash. Ollie Watkins. Top, top kids. We made some top signings. Lucas Digne, Kamara. I think Watkins can be even better - yeah, I think he's got another level if he can find consistency.

"So yes, I was really disappointed and upset with how Villa finished, but totally deserved it with the last run of results, for sure. And that was on me. That was on me."