Steven Gerrard pleads for January signings at Al-Ettifaq and urges board to be 'ruthless' with transfers... with the Saudi side winless in almost two months
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Steven Gerrard called on Al-Ettifaq's board to be 'ruthless' and make 'significant changes' in the January transfer window with pressure mounting on him.
Al-Ettifaq are winless in eight matches across almost two months and sit eighth in the table - one place lower than where they finished last season.
That's despite notable summer investment, with Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Demarai Gray, Moussa Dembele, and Jack Hendry all being drafted in.
However, the four clubs majority owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund spent even more lavishly and Gerrard has urged his club's top brass to loosen their purse strings to catch up.
He said: 'We need to show in this window, and also the summer window, that we mean business and we want to be competitive at the top of the league, and not where we are at the moment.
![Steven Gerrard has demanded 'ruthless' transfers at Al-Ettifaq in a bid to rise up the league](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/24/10/79301607-0-image-a-1_1703412213779.jpg)
Steven Gerrard has demanded 'ruthless' transfers at Al-Ettifaq in a bid to rise up the league
![Al-Ettifaq have slipped to eighth and haven't won in eight games despite their summer spend](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/24/10/79301681-0-image-a-2_1703412319151.jpg)
Al-Ettifaq have slipped to eighth and haven't won in eight games despite their summer spend
'It's a collective thing - the players here and now need to give more, and people need to step up and, at the right time, we will hopefully be able to make significant changes to the team and the squad.
'Hopefully at the back end of January you will see a different, stronger and more competitive squad.
'We have already had important meetings at Al Ettifaq in terms of mid-season updates and where every individual is, and where the group is at. The message, in summary, that we have sent is that we need to be aggressive, we need to be ruthless, and we need to make a lot of changes to make this team more competitive.'
Gerrard was speaking on the back of a 3-1 loss away to Al-Nassr, who can boast Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte Marcelo Brozovic, and Alex Telles in their ranks.
He only has one match left in December before the mid-season break, which will last February 15.
![Al-Nassr beat Al-Ettifaq 3-1 in their last match to leave Gerrard's team 10 points adrift of fourth](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/24/10/79301673-0-Al_Nassr_beat_Al_Ettifaq_3_1_in_their_last_match_to_leave_Gerrar-a-4_1703412668550.jpg)
Al-Nassr beat Al-Ettifaq 3-1 in their last match to leave Gerrard's team 10 points adrift of fourth
A reasonable target would be to improve on last campaign's seventh-placed finish and position themselves as the 'best of the rest' behind Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, and Al-Ittihad.
Despite Al-Ettifaq's splurge, the Saudi Pro League is not as easy to navigate as some might think.
A range of clubs outside the richest four have brought in former Premier League and European talent.
Al-Ittihad, Karim Benzema's team, are struggling in sixth and only four points ahead of Gerrard's team despite winning the title last season and spending luxuriously in the summer.
![A reasonable target for Gerrard's out-of-form side would be to finish fifth or sixth, as one of the best teams behind the biggest four spenders - Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/24/10/79301669-0-image-a-5_1703412711200.jpg)
A reasonable target for Gerrard's out-of-form side would be to finish fifth or sixth, as one of the best teams behind the biggest four spenders - Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli
Al-Taawoun and Damac have built on strong seasons to put themselves fourth and fifth so far.
Al-Ettifaq have been hampered in recent games by an injury to top goalscorer Dembele.
Gerrard said: 'We are really happy with a lot of individuals, both foreign and some local players. But if you look at us, once Moussa came out of the team, the weaknesses in our team have been highlighted, as have the options we had.'