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Aston Villa labelled ‘ideal stepping stone’ for Steven Gerrard before Liverpool as club legend Gabby Agbonlahor backs Rangers boss as Dean Smith’s replacement

Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has backed Steven Gerrard to be the club’s next manager after Dean Smith was sacked.

A run of five straight Premier League defeats saw Smith axed after three years in charge.

Attention now turns to who may replace him and Agbonlahor hopes current Rangers boss Gerrard is in the frame.

“I’d love him to come,” he told talkSPORT Breakfast. “Watching his passion on the side with Rangers, watching how Rangers play football, I think it would be a great signing for Aston Villa.

“I feel as well for Rangers, what more can he do with them. He’s won the title after such a long time of not winning it and I feel the time is right now to come to Aston Villa.

“That might now be a stepping stone for him before he might go to Liverpool in the future. 

“I feel the players will respect Steven Gerrard – one of the best Premier League players ever.

“I would be buzzing with that signing.

“Steven Gerrard has been named for most of the jobs going, so he has to take one sooner or later.”

Villa’s chief executive Christian Purslow explained that a continuous improvement in results and performances had not been seen and that is why the manager was sacked.

There had been great upheaval at the club over the summer with Smith losing assistants John Terry and Richard O’Kelly.

Jack Grealish also left in a £100million transfer to Man City – with several players coming in.

Agbonlahor added: “For me, I feel like Dean Smith still had credit in the bank. He came to Aston Villa, went on an unbeaten run, got them promoted, kept them up the following season and then last season did a great job.

“Villa were the place everyone wanted to watch football, exciting football and in the summer they then lost their talisman, their best player.

“It was always going to be hard, yes he got money to spend to bring in players, but those players haven’t performed.

“Leon Bailey, Danny Ings, Emi Buendia – they haven’t performed so far and I feel like they’ve let Dean Smith down.

“Five games in a row, yes that is a bad record, but the next game is Brighton at home where you would fancy Villa to get a result.

“I just feel he deserved more time and proves the Premier League is a savage place to be. Who would want to be a manager?”