Ray Houghton delivers honest verdict on Aston Villa appointing Steven Gerrard

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Aston Villa icon Ray Houghton has delivered his verdict on the Premier League club appointing Steven Gerrard as their new manager.

The Villans parted company with Dean Smith at the weekend following five successive Premier League defeats.

Villa are 16th in the Premier League table, two points above the relegation zone, and the board felt they needed a change.

The Villa Park outfit moved quickly to appoint his successor, bringing Gerrard in from Rangers on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The 41-year-old guided Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title last season, finishing the campaign undefeated in the league.

Aston Villa have made an “extremely good appointment”

And while Houghton, who played for both Villa and Liverpool, is “really sad” to see Smith leave, he’s happy to see Gerrard take the reins.

“I think it’s an extremely good appointment,” the 59-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live (11/11, 11:39am).

“I was really sad to see Dean Smith leave the club.

“I thought he’d done an excellent job but after the last few matches the club’s management have decided to go in a different direction.

“Steven’s done extremely well up in Scotland.

“He tried to overhaul the dominance that Celtic had and it took him a bit of time but last season he did it, they won the league and didn’t lose a league game.

“I think now it’s a bit like Brendan Rodgers a few years ago when he was at Celtic.

“He felt it was time for him to come back to the Premier League and manage, and for Steven it’s his first opportunity at a Premier League club.

“I don’t think you can get much better at the moment than Aston Villa.

“They’ve got good players, a good fan base and the owner’s got money to spend.

“The facilities that they’ve got, allied to the team, they just need pointing in the right direction and I think Steven will do that.”