Gerrard criticizes Mings after stripping him of captaincy

Steven Gerrard

said that England defender

needs to improve a lot if he wants to get back into the starting lineup. He also said that Mings's attitude needs to change. Before the new season started, the 29-year-old was replaced as captain by

.

Mings did not play in his team's 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on the first day of the season. Instead, Gerrard chose Ezri Konsa and new signing Diego Carlos, who both played the full 90 minutes.

Gerrard's approach to Mings has been a big story for

since the center-back played 36 times in the last two Premier League seasons and started twice for England at Euro 2020. Gerrard told

BBC Radio West Midlands

, "When I decided who would be captain, I gave him that challenge."

"We told Tyrone that he'd be back on the team if he got back to being at his best all the time. When Gerrard said that McGinn would be the new captain of Aston Villa, he said that Mings had not said anything bad about it. But that seemed to have changed when the season's first game came around.

When asked if the player's reaction made him decide not to put the center-back on the team, Gerrard said, "No." "It's kind of like that. "He has also missed some training time because of an injury, and there is also a niggle. "Tyrone will get chances to play when he's back to his best, looks me in the eye, and shows that he's ready."

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