Aston Villa appoint Steven Gerrard as manager

Gerrard returns to the Premier League with the struggling Villains

Key players from Villa's promotion-winning team of four years ago, John McGinn and Tyrone Mings, are key to his plans

Steven Gerrard has been confirmed as the new Aston Villa manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal, the Premier League club have announced. The former Liverpool and England captain left Rangers after four years in charge at Ibrox, where he won the Scottish Premiership title in each of his seasons at the helm and also led the club to the Europa League final last season.

Gerrard will take over at Villa with the club 16th in the Premier League table, having won just two of their opening 11 games of the season. He will be tasked with turning around the fortunes of a team that has struggled for consistency in recent years, and he will be hoping to use his experience as a player and manager to help Villa climb the table.

Gerrard will be joined at Villa by his former Liverpool teammate Gary McAllister, who will be his assistant manager. McAllister has previously worked as assistant manager at Liverpool and Leeds United, and he will be hoping to help Gerrard make a similar impact at Villa.

Villa's next game is against Brighton & Hove Albion at Villa Park on Saturday.