Under-pressure Steven Gerrard has been urged to rip up his Aston Villa script by Micah Richards amid rising unhappiness from supporters.
The former Rangers boss has lost three out of four to start the season and the Villans' next two fixtures are against Arsenal and Manchester City. The 42-year-old and his players were showered with boos after their insipid 1-0 defeat to previously winless West Ham on Sunday.
And the latest setback - set among rising tension from Villa diehards - comes ahead of a double-header against the top two teams in the English Premier League. Former England team-mate Richards is convinced Gerrard can turn it around, however, he has told his old pal the time is now to flip the script. Richards reckons the pairing of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings isn't working at present. He also reckons Gerrard's record north of the border shouldn't be used against him amid his current struggles.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 , he said: "I think Gerrard is a good manager, you see what he was able to do at Rangers. I know people will say it's not in the Premier League, I believe in what he is doing, he has got to make someone unhappy, whether he's got to drop Ings or Watkins and play a bit of width, he's got to do that for the best of the team."
And, writing in his BBC column, Richards added: "There are a few days remaining in the transfer window before Thursday's deadline and Villa certainly need to try to do some more business. There is no doubt the injury to new signing Diego Carlos is a setback while Gerrard could have done without Coutinho limping off against West Ham. The problems are mounting but knowing Gerrard, he will be doing everything in his power to put things right.
"He's an incredible man and he certainly motivated me when I played alongside him for England. He was first in the tackle, led by example, he shouted at you if you needed shouting at, and he encouraged you if you needed encouraging. He is a fighter. Villa have a good squad but Gerrard needs to find a way of putting the right pieces in the right places. I think he can do that."
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