Steven Gerrard says he sought out the advice of Alex Ferguson after being fired by Aston Villa, admitting his confidence was rocked by the dismissal.
The Liverpool legend is now in charge of Saudi side Al Ettifaq after leaving Villa Park in 2022.
The 43-year-old had been enjoying an excellent start to his managerial career after an impressive spell at Rangers followed by an encouraging first few months in the Premier League with Villa.
However, he lost his job in October 2022 after just two wins in 12 games at the start of the season, setting him back on his career path.
Somewhat unexpectedly Gerrard decided his next step would be in the Saudi Pro League, where he has been in charge of Al Ettifaq since July last year and the move came after speaking to a number of experienced heads in management, including the Manchester United legend.
‘It was tough. It hurt. I felt it,’ Gerrard told the Telegraph of leaving Villa. ‘But what people need to understand is if I didn’t feel that, if I didn’t take that personally, if I didn’t take full responsibility for that, then I am not Steven Gerrard anymore because when it’s football and it’s professional and it’s something that I love I will always own it.
‘I am not one of those people who looks to blame, who looks to point fingers. It’s not my style and that’s the reason why I needed a period of time to process that hard toughness. It knocked my confidence a little bit. It does.
‘I spoke to a lot of managers around it. I went to see Alex Ferguson for a couple of hours and he said “take your time, don’t jump into anything. Take your time and process it, analyse it”.
‘And that is what I have done. But it has not affected my ambition. I didn’t have any targets when I set out on this different journey. I didn’t have a plan to go to Glasgow Rangers. I didn’t have a plan to go to the Premier League after three and a half years. I didn’t have Aston Villa on my resume. I am going along trying to be the best version of myself and have a career in coaching because I am passionate about it.’
Gerrard’s first season in charge in Saudi saw Al Ettifaq finish a respectable sixth in the table, but with just 12 wins from their 34 league games.
Al Hilal dominated the Saudi Pro League, finishing with 96 points from their 34 games, an incredible 48 points ahead of Gerrard’s side in sixth.
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