Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa after falling well short of expectations as manager during his tenure.
Gerrard was relieved of his duties straight after suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham on Thursday night. Harrison Reed put the hosts ahead before Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card in the 62nd minute. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored from the penalty spot to double the hosts’ lead before a Tyrone Mings own goal sealed Gerrard’s fate.
After the final whistle a brief statement from Villa confirmed that Gerrard had been dismissed “with immediate effect”. A club spokesman added: "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future."
Despite being sacked, Gerrard was forced to endure an awkward ride back to Birmingham on the Villa team coach. The former Liverpool midfielder won just 13 of his 40 matches in charge of the club and leaves them 17th in the Premier League, just above the relegation zone, with nine points from 11 games.
Having initially given no details around Gerrard’s sacking, Villa have now elaborated. Chief executive Christian Purslow, the man who hired Gerrard last year, said: “The board has come to this decision following a full evaluation of results and performances over the calendar year. We were clear when we appointed Steven that we set an objective of continuous improvement but that has not been achieved despite everybody’s best efforts and we believe the time is right to make these changes now.
“The process of appointing a new head coach is underway and we will update supporters as soon as possible.”
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Gerrard’s coaching staff of Gary McAllister, Neil Critchley, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Scott Mason have all followed him out of the door, leaving first-team coach Aaron Danks in interim charge for Sunday’s match against Brentford. “The club would like to place on record its appreciation to them for their hard work and wish them well for the future,” Villa added in a statement.
Villa are understood to be targeting Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, who are out of work after being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea respectively, while Brentford boss Thomas Frank is also of interest to the board.
Gerrard lasted less than 12 months in the job, having left Rangers to take over from Dean Smith in November 2021. Before being informed of his fate, the 42-year-old insisted he was keen to continue in the role and turn things around. "I understand it, I can feel their frustration, I'm frustrated with them [too],” he told Prime Video. “It was a tough night for me, personally. I understand the situation we are I am. I am a fighter and I will never quit. We will see what happens."
