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Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has insisted that his only focus amid his return to Anfield on Saturday is taking three points from Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Gerrard, a lifelong Liverpool legend and fan, is embarking on his return to the club with Villa. Many had speculated that Gerrard’s first taste of management back at Anfield would be in the Reds dugout.

However, after his league triumph with Rangers, he snapped up interest from Villa. As such, he will cut his teeth in the English top flight with the ambitious West Midlands club.

Gerrard has had an instant impact too, winning three of his four matches so far after five defeats in a row under previous boss Dean Smith.

The one loss for Gerrard came against Manchester City. While he now faces another top-six club, all the talk about the clash with Liverpool is instead about his return.

For Gerrard, though, he has insisted that he wants to send a statement to Reds boss Klopp, a coach he admires.

“I spent many years there, so it brings a smile to my face for a couple of reasons,” Gerrard told his pre-match press conference. “One because I’ve obviously got a good relationship with a lot of people at the club.

“I had a fantastic time there, a really good journey. I’m a local boy and it’s the team I supported growing up and I always will support that team, of course I will.

Gerrard looking to compete with Liverpool

“But at the same time it brings a smile to my face because I’ve got the opportunity to go there and compete against a good team, a good manager, with the opportunity to try and win the game and that’s my only focus.

“I think the noise is for other people to get excited about. For me, it’s about preparing the team in the best way I can to try and get a positive result to Aston Villa.

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“That’s the way I will be. Everyone in that stadium will know me well enough to know what I’m about and what I’m going to Anfield for.”

Gerrard added in his pre-match press briefing that “there’s a load of positivity going around at the moment” at Villa.

That has been given a boost by the return from injury for striker Danny Ings and left-back Matt Targett.

Gerrard talks Villa, coronavirus concerns

However, coronavirus is still a problem in the English top flight – and it has made more headlines of late. Tottenham’s clash against Brighton on Sunday has been postponed because of an outbreak at the club.

Gerrard said: “I obviously sympathise with [Tottenham manager] Antonio [Conte]. It’s a concern for myself and every other manager.

“There was a situation here before I came and you’ve always got that lingering paranoia abut the what ifs.

“It is a virus that has not gone. We’re not through the woods and it’s changing all the time.

“So you’ve got to be as careful as you can because you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re losing players, which obviously affects points.”

READ MORE: Aston Villa star who ‘wants to leave’ likely on the move in January

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