Aston Villa assistant Neil Critchley
Reach PLC Journalist Sean McGinlay has been left shocked at Steven Gerrard’s latest move to bring Neil Critchley to Aston Villa.
The Lowdown: Critchley joins
Gerrard brought assistant Michael Beale with him from Rangers when he took over at Villa Park back in November. However, Beale has now been appointed as the new manager of QPR, penning a three-year contract with the Championship side.
Villa haven’t wasted any time in bringing in Beale’s replacement, with Blackpool manager Critchley next to pen terms in the Midlands. The Villa Park outfit have of course been impressively busy in these last few weeks, securing deals for Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos.
Critchley and Gerrard crossed paths at Liverpool’s academy, with the latter describing Critchley as his ‘number one choice when looking for a new assistant head coach’.
The Latest: McGinlay reacts
McGinlay, a Blackpool reporter for Lancs Live, took to Twitter to share the news and his reaction.
He said he ‘can’t quite believe’ that Critchley has left his post as Blackpool boss to become Gerrard’s assistant, with fans echoing McGinlay’s reaction, saying it’s a big ‘shock‘ and ‘absolutely wild’, while talkSPORT called it a ‘surprise‘.
The Verdict: A coup for Villa
Critchley has plenty of experience as an academy manager and a first-team manager, with Villa set to be his first assistant position.
How many more signings do Villa need to make this summer?
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The 43-year-old was seemingly persuaded by Villa’s long-term plans to leave a managerial role for a number two position, and you’d expect that this could be a real coup for the club.
Villa have already made a number of exciting additions on the pitch and have acted quickly to replace Beale, showing plenty of positive signs ahead of Gerrard’s first full season in charge.
In other news: Villa and NSWE now want to sign ‘stand out’ forward after Suarez; Gerrard not hanging around.
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