Steven Gerrard is gearing up to take charge of Al-Ettifaq's next match - despite starting 2025 with a continuation of his team's poor form. The Liverpool hero has now overseen just one win in the last 11 matches, a run going back to late September last year.

Although Gerrard did manage to get a confidence-boosting 2-1 victory over Al-Khaleej just over one month ago before the mid-season break, it was a familiar tale on Friday when his team were beaten 3-2 by Al-Kholood, who started the game just above the Saudi Pro League's relegation places.

Speaking after the game, he showed signs of cracking. "The team's performance was poor and it's hard to defend anyone, especially when we concede three goals like that," he said.

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"[Abdulelah] Almalki couldn't participate in the match, yet he gave it his all. [Georginio] Wijnaldum was sick in the last 48 hours before the game.

"Similarly, [Alvaro] Medran suffered a minor injury before the match and I hope he'll be ready for the next game. I chose the best attacking players, but the result didn't go our way.

"We were stronger in terms of squad depth before the break. And I don't have an answer regarding signing a new defensive midfielder."

Gerrard has been under pressure in the Gulf state after struggling to get going in his second season. He led Al-Ettifaq to a sixth-place finish in 2023/24, but is languishing in the bottom half currently and is only three points away from the drop zone.

It's this stretch that has seen his position in charge come under scrutiny. Gerrard is, though, set to be in the dugout for Wednesday's clash with Damac, who sit one spot ahead in the table.

He took training ahead of the match with the club confirming that the first team had concluded preparations with a session. The Saudi club explained that "The training session included intensive fitness exercises, in addition to implementing a number of tactical phrases using the ball, under the supervision of the technical staff. The training concluded with a ball manoeuvre in the middle of the field."

Gerrard has also posted online - showing a snapshot of his involvement. He added an image initially uploaded by the club of him overseeing training. With a stopwatch in one hand, Gerrard can be seen speaking to his Al-Ettifaq players, who are out of shot.

He will be keen to get a much-needed victory on the board to try and kickstart the new calendar year. Anything other than three points will only increase the criticism and speculation over his place.