Liverpool hero John Aldridge believes Steven Gerrard has taken a big "gamble" leaving Rangers for Aston Villa.

Liverpool legend Gerrard has long been hailed as a possible successor to Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, yet much will depend on what happens in his first posting as a Premier League manager.

Aldridge told the Sunday World: "Every move you make in football is a gamble to some extent, but it is hard to say no when you get a chance to take over at a great club like Aston Villa.

"There will always be links with Stevie and the Liverpool job, but he won't even be thinking about that now as he has a massive job on his hands at Villa.

"They have been struggling in recent weeks and that's why they decided to change their manager and if Villa get relegated this season, Stevie knows he can forget about taking over as Liverpool at some point in the future. That's how this game works.

"He won't be looking at it that way, though. He will be thinking he can steady the ship, get Villa into the top half of the table and build from there.

"If he could get the club into a position where they are challenging for European places, his reputation as a manager would be enhanced after everything he achieved at Rangers."

Aldridge believes it would have been tough for Gerrard to walk away from Rangers after guiding the club to the Scottish Premiership title last season, as he admits he had huge affection for the club.

"Speaking to Stevie about his time in Scotland, I know how much he had fallen in love with Rangers," he added. "He loved the passion of the fans and everything about the club.

"They gave him his chance as a manager and he took it by bringing them the success they enjoyed last season. As a Celtic fan, I wasn't too happy about what he did there, but I was pleased for him because he is a great fella.

"Stevie has an attitude that means he believes he will succeed wherever he goes and he will believe that at Villa now."