Aston Villa staff profiles
Pen pics of Aston Villa's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
FOOTBALL EXECUTIVES
SPORTING DIRECTOR
Johan Lange
Nationality: Danish
Appointed in July 2020, replacing Spaniard Jesus Garcia Pitarch. Had been Technical Director at FC Copenhagen since 2014, during which time they won three league titles and gained a formidable reputation for developing young talent.
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Steven Gerrard
Nationality: English
A legendary player for both Liverpool and England who is also now making a name for himself in management. Led Liverpool's U18s in 2017/18 before joining Rangers, whom he took to their first league title in 10 years - and they remained unbeaten in the process. Appointed by Villa in November 2021.
ASSISTANT
Neil Critchley
Nationality: English
Hired in June 2022 to replace Michael Beale, who had left to become manager of QPR. Knows Gerrard from his time at Liverpool's Academy, where he was U18s and U23 boss. Took over at Blackpool in March 2020, leading them to promotion in 2020/21 and then 16th in the Championship last season.
ASSISTANT
Gary McAllister
Nationality: Scottish
Played alongside Gerrard at Liverpool and became his assistant at Rangers, when he was looking for experience alongside him. Managed Coventry and Leeds United.
GOALKEEPER COACH
Neil Cutler
Nationality: English
Born in Wolverhampton and played for Villa (as cover for David James) during a 15-year playing career. Recruited from nearby West Brom in November 2018 when Dean Smith was manager.
TECHNICAL COACH
Tom Culshaw
Nationality: English
Was an Academy 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.”
SET PIECES COACH
Austin MacPhee
Nationality: Scottish
Globetrotter as a player, turning out for 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.
FIRST-TEAM COACH
Aaron Danks
Nationality: English
Joined in September 2021, having been Vincent Kompany's assistant at Anderlecht for three months. Worked for the Football Association for five years, going on to become Head of Specialist Coaching. Prior to that worked for West Brom's Academy for seven years.
PERFORMANCE
HEAD OF FITNESS & CONDITIONING
Jordan Milsom
Nationality: English
Was a rehab fitness coach at Liverpool's Academy for eight years, which is how he knows Gerrard (the player and coach). Moved with him to Rangers and now Villa.
PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR
Jeremy Oliver
Nationality: Australian
Bit of a mystery man. You won't find him on social media and there are no public interviews with him, nor any photos. Even Villa's staff were left drawing blanks when they tried to research him after his arrival. Was appointed at the end of last season and oversees the whole medical/ performance department. Had previously worked in his homeland of Australia.
PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE SCIENTIST
Aman Singh Shergill
Nationality: English
Appointed in November 2019 following four and a half years at near rivals Birmingham City. Works alongside Sharkey and gathers/ analyses performance data.
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH
Oli Stevenson
Nationality: English
Youth player at Villa before taking a sports science degree at Loughborough University and taking a different path. Started as an S&C with the Academy before being promoted to the first team.
PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE COACH
Patrick Moore
Nationality: English
Joined the club as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in January 2019 from Brentford, where he had worked for three-and-a-half years. Title changed to Physical Performance Coach in May 2021.
HEAD OF NUTRITION
Serra Tumay
Nationality: American
Joined in September 2022, having previously been Olympic Sports Performance Dietician at UCLA. Was a college footballer of some repute herself.
PSYCHOLOGIST
Martin Littlewood
Nationality: English
Has been the Principal Lecturer in Sport Psychology & Development at Liverpool John Moores University since September 2003. Started with Gerrard at Villa in December 2021, having previously worked with him at Rangers. Has also worked in football with Bolton, Everton and Leicester.
MEDICAL
HEAD OF SPORT MEDICINE AND SCIENCE
Ricky Shamji
Nationality: English
Moved into football in 2008, having previously worked as a GP. Joined Villa in 2015.
LEAD PHYSIO
Alan Smith
Nationality: English
Club stalwart who joined in July 2000.
PHYSIO
Steven Polley
Nationality: English
Promoted from the Academy following the departure of John Hartley to Derby County in December 2020.
PHYSIO
Rob Marshall
Nationality: New Zealand
Worked for Hearts and Sheffield Wednesday before joining Villa in 2015.
ANALYSTS
LEAD ANALYST
Scott Mason
Nationality: English
Worked at Liverpool as a performance analyst for almost seven years, which is how he knows Gerrard. Moved with him to Rangers and then Villa.
HEAD OF PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
David Stewart
Nationality: English
Joined from QPR in 2016.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Scott Adey-Linforth
Nationality: English
Was the first analyst to work with Villa Ladies. Promoted to Academy and then first team.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Joseph Ure
Nationality: English
Hired from Tottenham in April 2019.
FOOTBALL RESEARCH
HEAD OF RESEARCH
Frederik Leth
Nationality: Danish
Joined from FC Copenhagen in February 2021, having been Lange's short-lived replacement there as Technical Director. Responsible for ensuring an evidence-based approach across the club.
LEAD DATA SCIENTIST & ENGINEER
Arjav Trivedi
Nationality: English
Worked for Arsenal for three years as a Data Scientist and Engineer before a brief spell with Fifa. Joined Villa in October 2021 and responsible for using “cutting-edge techniques to derive insights from data”.
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Matt Bennett
Nationality: English
Arrived at the club in October 2019 from Minnesota United. Responsible for all first-team operations, including team travel and player logistics.
PLAYER CARE MANAGER
Phil Roscoe
Nationality: English
Joined from Liverpool, where he had worked for seven years, in May 2022. Worked with Gerrard during his time with the Reds. Role at Anfield was Academy Player Care Manager.
