Gerrard appointed Aston Villa manager

Former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard was confirmed as Aston Villa's new manager on Thursday as the 41-year-old ended his three-and-a-half-year stint with Rangers.

Gerrard emerged as the favourite for the Villa job after the Midlands club sacked manager Dean Smith after a run of five successive Premier League defeats. In a statement, the club's CEO Christian Purslow said Gerrard's "ambitions, philosophy and values" matched the club's.

Gerrard was in charge of Rangers for three-and-a-half years and last season broke arch-rivals Celtic's nine-year domination to lead the Ibrox club to a 55th Scottish title on the back of an unbeaten league campaign.

Villa will be Gerrard's first senior coaching role south of the border and the former midfielder, who played more than 700 games for Liverpool between 1998 and 2015  said he was proud to be appointed. "Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new Head Coach," Gerrard said.