Steven Gerrard has suggested that he is growing frustrated with Aston Villa's lack of quality in the final third after witnessing his side draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest.
Villa made the trip to the City Ground on the back of a three-match undefeated streak, collecting five points from games against Manchester City, Southampton and Leeds United.
However, Gerrard is coming under pressure at Villa Park due to a number of uninspiring performances going forward, a situation not helped by failing to defeat 10-man Leeds in their previous match.
Things threatened to turn sour for Gerrard and Villa when Forest took an early lead on Monday night, Emmanuel Dennis getting on the scoresheet for the home side.
While Ashley Young soon got the visitors back on level terms with a long-range strike, Villa ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils.
With the club sitting just three points clear of the relegation zone, Gerrard will likely face increasing calls for the Villa hierarchy to remove him from his position in the dugout.
© Reuters
However, Gerrard feels that Villa are close to putting together an improved run of form, providing that his attacking players can begin to show a ruthless streak in front of goal.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Gerrard said: "I don't think we created enough to say we deserved to win. I wanted us to create more clear-cut chances. I don't think there was too much wrong with the performance up to a certain point.
"It wasn't a foul [for the free kick leading up to the goal]. Tyrone Mings got a clear contact on the ball but saying that we still have to defend the set piece better. It was a fantastic strike and it was one of a few moments of quality in the final third. Ashley [Young] is leading by example for us at the moment and we are really pleased with him.
"We are grinding at the moment. We are close to turning draws into wins but to do that we need big players to step forward for us and give us a little more quality in the last bit of our play. In the last couple of games we are going away frustrated.
"We have tried to change our system a bit to be a bit more bold. We finished with a really bold team out there to try and find that bit of magic and quality."
In nine Premier League fixtures this season, Villa have scored two or more goals on just one occasion, that moment coming in a 2-1 win against Everton on August 13.
Villa are next in action when they play host to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
Darren Plant
