Steven Gerrard reckons he's served his 'apprenticeship' at Rangers and will prove the doubters wrong as he looks to turn around misfiring Aston Villa.

The Scouser controversially switched the captaincy to John McGinn from defender Tyrone Mings, a move that has raised more than a few eyebrows.

The England defender is understood to be a popular character in the Villa dressing room and the Birmingham side subsequently lost their opening day fixture with Bournemouth 2-0.

Gerrard is under pressure to turn things around quickly after a poor end to last season with his side having registered just two wins from their last 12 games.

But the 41-year-old is in no doubt he has the inner steel to make a success of the job.

He told The Guardian: “What I would say is I think certainly that I have that extra determination to prove to people I can be a success from a managerial point of view. In certain people’s minds and opinions, they believe you’re given certain jobs and offers on the back of a playing career – and I think it plays a part, of course it does, your leadership skills – but I made it abundantly clear that I wanted to start from the beginning. 

"I went into Liverpool’s academy for 18 months to try to learn and grow, to see if I thought it was for me. I gave big consideration before I decided to take a big opportunity at Rangers. I’d like to think I’ve done my apprenticeship – whether that was long enough in people’s opinions, I don’t know. I certainly turned a lot of opportunities down.”