Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has accepted the need to take the squad overseas for preseason.
The manager spoke about the importance of coming out on tour to Australia following talks with chief exec Christian Purslow prior to coming out Down Under.
“Football never takes a back seat wherever we are in the world," Gerrard explained. “When we sat down and organised the trip, Christian brought this to me. The conversation with Christian was pretty clear, we have to make sure that the team and the club, the friendlies and where we are playing is the priority because we're preparing for the season and it's always got to be thinking about football.
“But, in my position, you've got to respect the fact that these are huge organisations and institutions that need to grow and, to expand globally, you need to come out and see your fans. We've got fans all over the world so, over the coming years, we'll visit different places and we'll try and get up close and personal with as many as we can. That's the way football's gone. As you say, it's global now. It's not domestic and we want to become as big as we can be."
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