Mueez Ajao
– Aston Villa have sacked manager Steven Gerrard following Thursday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham.
– A club spokesman said: “We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”
– Villa have won just twice in the league this season and only sit above the relegation zone on goals scored.
Also Read: Mount braces Blues past Aston Villa
– Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith as Villa manager in November 2021 after leaving his role at Rangers.
– But the former England and Liverpool midfielder, 42, led Villa to only 13 wins from 40 games during his 11 months in charge.
– After the defeat by Fulham, he told BBC Match of the Day: “Inconsistency has cost us, that’s the position we find ourselves in. I took over the team in a very similar situation. We’ve tried to recruit to get us out of that situation.
– “I’m a fighter – it’s in my DNA. I’ll continue to fight unless I’m told differently.”
– About an hour later his time as Villa boss was over.
– Before Gerrard’s departure was revealed, captain John McGinn said: “It’s embarrassing to be part of. We’ve let the travelling fans down, the manager down. It’s a bad night for us.
– “It doesn’t matter who’s in charge of that team. It’s nothing to do with the manager – the players have to look at themselves in the mirror. We’ve definitely not lost faith in [the manager] – it’s us who are responsible.
– “He’s a top manager, he’s hurting just as the players are. We’ve let him down tonight. It’s up to us now to put in a performance for him.”
– Villa fans sang various anti-Gerrard chants during the game at Craven Cottage.
– McGinn added: “I understand the fans’ frustration. There can be a nasty side to those shouts. The support are very demanding so I can understand the frustration. You’re playing at a top level and if you’re not performing, you get criticised.”
– In Gerrard’s time at Villa he signed some high-profile players including Barcelona forward Phillipe Coutinho, Sevilla defender Diego Carlos and French midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who had been linked with some of Europe’s top sides.
– However Carlos suffered a serious ankle injury on his home debut and Kamara is expected to be out until the new year with a knee ligament injury sustained against Southampton last month.
– In the summer Gerrard removed England defender Tyrone Mings as captain and replaced him with Scotland’s McGinn – who has made a poor start to the season.
– Gerrard’s assistant Michael Beale, who had been with him since Rangers, left Villa in the summer to become QPR manager.
– Gerrard, who played 710 times for Liverpool, took his first steps in senior management with Rangers in 2018 and guided the club to their first Scottish Premiership title in 10 years.
– Prior to that, he coached within Liverpool’s academy before managing the under-18 team during the 2017-18 season.
– Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers, who has also been under pressure recently, managed Gerrard at Liverpool.
– “I’m bitterly disappointed for Steven, he did a fantastic job at Rangers and the ambitions at Villa, I assume, are to be challenging for Europe,” Rodgers said.
– “It seems every day a manager loses his job or their job is under threat. I think stability and patience seems to be running out.
– “I believe with time and patience he could have got to where that football club wants to go.”
