The Steven Gerrard in-tray: The problems he must fix at Aston Villa - and what should be his target

Following his appointment as Aston Villa's new head coach, Steven Gerrard will oversee a team that is short on confidence but full of proven Premier League quality.

His former Liverpool and England team-mate Jamie Carragher believes Villa have the potential to regularly challenge the top six.

So what does he need to do to get them back on track? Telegraph Sport looks at the most pressing issues he must attend to.

Create a new style of play and tighten up the defence

The sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City was a huge blow to Villa, and Steven Gerrard's predecessor Dean Smith, and there are some alarming statistics underpinning the club's record without their former captain.

But Villa had to move on and recruiting the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey over the summer was designed to decrease the dependency on Grealish and extend the squad's options.

This was always likely to be a transitional season, but Smith's hopes of establishing a new identity were damaged by injuries to many of the new signings.

Smith tinkered with formations and tactical approaches but it never seemed to work: Buendia, for example, has been played out of position as a No. 10 instead of out wide where he flourished at Norwich City.

At Rangers, Gerrard was renowned for attacking football but also a rock-solid defence: in the title-winning season, his side managed 26 clean sheets. Villa only managed three under Smith this season, so the defence will be one of Gerrard's first positions to address.

Signing a new left-back in January also has to be a priority, as Matt Targett is not good enough for the top level and has little competition.

Revive Tyrone Mings and John McGinn

One of Smith's final decisive acts at Villa was to drop Mings for the Premier League game against West Ham. It was a decision that, in truth, had been coming.

Mings has struggled this season, making costly mistakes and performing way below the levels he is capable of. The Villa captain was even sweating over his England squad place earlier this month.

But every team needs a leader, and Gerrard will know that Mings can be the focal point of Villa's team. One of the abiding memories of that awful time when football was played behind closed doors was hearing Mings bellowing out advice and delivering praise to his team-mates. He can be an inspirational presence, and the organisation and motivation he can bring to the team should be invaluable.

McGinn has also been underwhelming this season, appearing unsure of his exact role within the team. He is the player many of the top six would love to sign and, as a midfielder, could be one who really flourishes under Gerrard.

Aside from the obvious influence of Grealish, Mings and McGinn have been arguably Villa's most vital players since the club returned to the Premier League and Gerrard needs to get them firing again.

Find a way for Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings to play together

Ollie Watkins was a revelation last season after the £28million move from Brentford, establishing himself as a relentless pressing forward who was rewarded with a call-up to the England squad.

Ings, meanwhile, has a reputation in the Premier League which stretches back years so the prospect of these two forwards playing together was an exciting one.

However, the "Watk-Ings' partnership has not worked out - partly because pre-season was disrupted by Covid so a lot of the preparation suffered.

Ings had arguably his best game against Newcastle, scoring a stunning bicycle kick, on a day when Watkins was in the stands with a knee injury.

When Watkins did return, for the game at Chelsea, they struggled as a partnership and did not look comfortable. There was little evidence of any chemistry and too often they seemed to get in each other's way, though it could be argued there was little service.

Ings then suffered a hamstring injury earlier this month which ruled him out of the 1-0 defeat at Southampton, in what was Smith's final game.

Any forward pairing needs work and they have had to learn on the job, at a time when Smith was desperately trying to get results.

Can the two of them play together, or operate better as a front-three? Gerrard needs to find a solution, for the results could be richly rewarding.

Finish in the top eight

Gerrard will inherit a Villa team 16th in the Premier League, who have lost five games in a row. The former England midfielder has been a winner throughout his gilded career and will be under no illusions that Villa's owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, remain fully focused on returning the club to European competition.

Finishing in the top eight was the ambition this season, and Gerrard will undoubtedly see that as still achievable. Beyond that, the ambition is to be competing regularly in the Champions League and follow the Villa mantra of "continuous improvement and progress".

Gerrard's record in Europe with Rangers was impressive, reaching the last 16 of the Europa League last season, and he will be determined to operate on that level again.

He will unquestionably have the backing to do it - Villa's owners have spent over £300million since promotion from the Championship in 2019, and Gerrard will be assured of funds for the January transfer window.