"The name speaks for itself" - Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard opens up on Manchester United's 'different style' under Erik ten Hag

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has claimed his side will be prepared for a new-look Manchester United in the upcoming friendly between the two sides on their pre-season tour of Australia.

The Red Devils thrashed Gerrard's former side Liverpool 4-0 in Bangkok on Tuesday, July 13, in Erik ten Hag's first game in charge of the club. They take on the Villans in Perth on Saturday, July 23.

Former England midfielder Gerrard claims he watched Manchester United's dominant victory over the Reds as he told 10 News First (via The Birmingham Mail):

“Manchester United, obviously, the name speaks for itself. They’ve been a rival of mine from a personal point of view for many years. New manager and I watched their game against Liverpool. It looks like they’ll have a different style, to be more aggressive and on the front foot. We’ll prepare for that.”

Manchester United's new Dutch boss arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax with a reputation for getting his team to press from the front and play with high intensity. It was certainly on show as they hammered Jurgen Klopp's team in the Thailand capital.

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Gerrard lays out expecations for his Aston Villa side this season ahead of Manchester United friendly

The 42-year-old manager oversaw his side's comfortable 4-0 triumph over local rivals Walsall over the weekend. He has already made his feelings known on where he thinks the team should be competing ahead of the new campaign.

As quoted in the already referenced Birmingham Mail report, the former Rangers manager also shared his thoughts on the importance of pre-season, as he proclaimed:

"The priorities are that we’re here to work and to prepare for the season but, for me, the most important thing is the training time. We’ve got wonderful facilities here to rehearse and work. There will be a fitness aspect but there’s a technical aspect as well.

“We want to be operating in the top-half of the Premier League, for sure, and we want to have stronger runs in the cup competitions. We finished 14th last season and the first part of the remit was to stay away from relegation. We did that well but we suffered some inconsistencies as well.”

The former European champions take on Leeds United next in their tour Down Under, before a clash with A-League side Brisbane Roar. Gerrard insisted that his men would not be taking the Aussie outfit lightly, as he stated:

“I think [Brisbane Roar] will be really motivated to be playing against a Premier League team and we’ll certainly be very respectful the other way as well."