Gerrard pays tribute to the 'firm' after Everton win
Left to right: Beale, Culshaw, McPhee, Gerrard, Moore, McAllister, Littlewood, Olsen and Shergill
Written by Training Ground Guru — January 24, 2022
ASTON VILLA manager Steven Gerrard has paid tribute to his ‘firm’ of backroom staff following the 1-0 win against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Gerrard posted a photo of himself flanked by seven staff (and a player) on Instagram on Sunday, along with the words, “Find me a better firm.”
After the former England midfielder was appointed Villa boss in November, he brought six staff in with him, while retaining a number of those from the existing coaching, performance, analysis and medical teams.
The eight alongside him in the photo, from left to right, are:
- Michael Beale (Assistant): Was Head of Coaching for the Foundation Phase at Liverpool when Gerrard took him to Rangers to become his assistant. Previously assistant at Sao Paulo in Brazil and an Academy coach at Chelsea. Appeared on Episode #27 of the TGG Podcast.
- Tom Culshaw (Technical Coach): Was a youth player at Liverpool alongside Gerrard but ultimately failed to make the grade. Moved into coaching and assisted his friend with the U18s before moving with him to Rangers. Gerrard has said: “When I started out full-time as an apprentice, Tommy was a year above me so I know everything about him and he knows everything about me. I thought he was the perfect partner to go into it.”
- Austin McPhee (Set Pieces Coach): Globetrotting player who turned out teams in the United States, Romania and Japan. Moved into coaching in his late twenties and has been assistant with St Mirren, Hearts, Mexico, Northern Ireland and FC Midtjylland. Appointed as Villa's first set pieces coach in August 2021 under Dean Smith and remained under Gerrard.
- Patrick Moore (Physical Performance Coach): Joined Villa as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in January 2019 from Brentford, where he had worked for three-and-a-half years. His title changed to Physical Performance Coach in May 2021.
- Gary McAllister (Assistant): Played alongside Gerrard at Liverpool and became his assistant at Rangers. A highly experienced coach who has been a manager in his own right, with Coventry City and Leeds United.
- Dr Martin Littlewood (Psychologist): Has been the Principal Lecturer in Sport Psychology & Development at Liverpool John Moores University since September 2003. Joined Gerrard at Villa in December 2021, having previously worked with him at Rangers. Has also worked in football with Bolton, Everton and Leicester. Beale spoke about Littlewood's work at Rangers last summer: “We did a lot of talking about... the messages that we send in training and the message that the manager sends in his meetings and the coaches in the unit meetings about staying on task and not looking too far ahead."
- Robin Olsen (Goalkeeper): The 32-year-old Swede joined on loan from Roma earlier this month.
- Aman Singh Shergill (Physical Performance Scientist): Appointed in November 2019 following four-and-a-half years at near rivals Birmingham City. Gathers/ analyses performance data.
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