Steven Gerrard makes dressing room admission ahead of Fulham clash

Gerrard’s side have accumulated a miserly nine points from their 10 games this season and travel to Fulham on Thursday night.

Aston Villa are without a win in their last three league games, drawing to Leeds and Nottingham Forest before losing 2 – 0 to Chelsea last weekend.

After the loss to Chelsea, rumours about an imminent sack for Gerrard surfaced, but the former Liverpool captain is confident his team can quell the heat and turn their fortunes.

Mauricio Pochettino has been identified as a likely successor should the poor run of form continue.

“If you play for Aston Villa it (confidence and desire) should be in your DNA,” Gerrard said. “You should make the most of your opportunity; you’re at a top club with top people, facilities and resources. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t want to improve the current situation.”

He added: “The players are giving me everything they’ve got. They’re just as determined as myself to change our results. We all understand where we’re at.

“We’ve got an honest group. Everyone around me is totally focused and working as hard as they can to change our results.

“The reason we’re doing that is because we know there’s frustration for our supporters and we want to change that.”

After the match at Craven Cottage, they host Brentford on Sunday evening.