Former Aston Villa assistant manager Gary McAllister believes luck was not with Steven Gerrard when he was head coach.

McAllister and Gerrard arrived at Villa in November 2021 from Rangers in Scotland.

However, they were both dismissed in October 2022, with Unai Emery coming in and taking the team up several levels since then.

“The levels and everything in and around football in Saudi is obviously miles behind the Premier League in England where everything is supreme," McAlliser told the Daily Record.

“But he will be back here without a shadow of a doubt.

“He is meticulous in his preparation. The way he prepared himself for games at Liverpool is no different to the way he prepares teams to play at any level."