Aston Villa boss Gerrard ready for Everton 'abuse and banter': Digne will be fine | OneFootball

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·21 January 2022

Aston Villa boss Gerrard ready for Everton 'abuse and banter': Digne will be fine

Article image:Aston Villa boss Gerrard ready for Everton 'abuse and banter': Digne will be fine

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is looking forward to tomorrow's clash at Everton.

Former Blue Lucas Digne made his Villa debut in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United and Gerrard is delighted by the way his new signing has settled.


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The manager said, "Everything he did was pure quality, he showed the level of player that he is and he's backed that up in training this week.

“I'm sure the Everton fans will appreciate Lucas, because he gave everything for that club."

Gerrard says he expects, “loads of abuse, loads of banter, which is fine. It takes the heat off my players and they can focus on playing.

“My shoulders are broad enough and my skin's thick enough to accept that warm welcome. I haven't got a problem with it."

On Everton's present situation he added: "You can quite clearly see, listen to and read the noises that are coming from Everton at the moment, which is the caretaker manager demanding a reaction.

“I don't think it's difficult to predict what's going to be coming our way. I think you're going to see a real cauldron of an atmosphere at Goodison, I think they'll be behind the team.

“The majority of them (the fans) wanted a changed in that position (manager). To have an iconic figure leading the team (Duncan Ferguson), it will be pretty similar to what happened when he took over previously.

“The atmosphere, noise and support behind the team changed and he got a big reaction out of the players. From our point of view, we need to be ready for that, we need to handle that and make sure we're the best version of ourselves."

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