While much of the excitement at Aston Villa at the moment will naturally surround Steven Gerrard and how he can get the club firing again, NSWE will be absolutely delighted at securing the services of another man: Michael Beale.

The 41-year-old arrived at Villa Park as Gerrard's first-team coach from his time at Rangers, and has been widely hailed by numerous people for the role he has played.

Indeed, Gerrard himself told The Robbie Fowler Podcast: "What I'll never do is try to do someone else's job when they are better than me at doing it It would take me 15 to 20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick because he's the expert."

That sentiment is echoed by journalist Stuart Hodge who exclusively revealed to GIVEMESPORT the kind of role Beale has played, and will play at Villa Park over the coming months and years.

Hodge said: "Beale is the man behind him that’s doing things and looking at things from a different perspective. He’ll be the one doing a lot of the drills on the training pitch."

He added: "Gerrard is the manager and Beale's the coach, essentially. Beale is the brains behind the operation, whereas Gerrard is very much the face and the front of it."

Having that respected coach who can really dig into the finer details on the training ground and really improve players will be particularly key for a young Villa side brimming with exciting talents coming through the academy - not least the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Cameron Archer.

And, speaking to BBC Scotland, former Gers star Peter Lovenkrands outlined just how Beale goes about things with individual players: "What he does with the players on the pitch is phenomenal. I remember he was giving me sessions to take down because I was doing the reserves; he wanted us to copy it. I was loving it. I actually wanted to take part in the training.

"He's so on the ball. He's so good at what he does. The players love it. His preparation for each game is fantastic to watch, and Gerrard is very lucky to have him."

While Villa fans will surely be very pleased with appointing Gerrard, the arrival of the 41-year-old Beale in tandem could be the real masterstroke that really ignites things behind-the-scenes.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has revealed what Gerrard has "transformed" at Villa Park...