West Ham striker Michail Antonio has claimed a clutch of Aston Villa stars weren't having Steven Gerrard 's personality during his ill-fated stay in the Midlands.
The 42-year-old lasted 11 months before he paid with his job amid a string of wonky results coupled with displays which had left supporters miffed. And now the Hammers star has claimed the former Rangers boss wasn't beloved by all within the Aston Villa dressing room - with the 32-year-old stating his dissenters' gripe were not about tactics but surrounding the man himself.
And the claims from Antonio came after caretaker boss Aaron Danks secured a stunning 4-0 triumph over Brentford which was turbo-charged with three goals in the first 15 minutes. Unai Emery has been named as Gerrard's permanent successor and will take the reins at Villa Park once his visa has been rubber-stamped. Antonio, speaking on the Footballer's Football Podcast, said: “Honestly, what I’ve heard on the grapevine is that there were a few players who weren’t really having him.
"I’m not too sure how many there were but what I heard is that a few players weren’t really having him and didn’t like how he was. It wasn’t how he wanted to play, it was more how he was as a manager himself and how he dealt with the players. That’s what I heard.”
And Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson - fighting to make Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad - reflected on the acrimonious chain of events which led to former skipper Tyrone Mings being left out for the Premier League opening day defeat to newly promoted Bournemouth.
Wilson said: “Those kinds of situations can have a snowball effect and not for a positive, it’s gone negative. When you see the news of that come up you’re a bit taken aback by it as well. I think it was a bit harsh, especially with Mings who was in the England setup at the time. But that’s a decision a manager makes and he stands by that and if you ask Gerrard he’d probably say he wouldn’t change that decision.
“I guess you make your bed and you lay in it and, at the end of the day, it wouldn’t have been that that got him the sack. Overall it was the performances but, then, I think the attackers weren’t scoring enough goals then the manager would come out in the media and say they weren’t scoring and this and that.”
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