Aston Villa have confirmed five ex-Liverpool employees will follow Steven Gerrard out of the exit door as they continue their clear-out of the club.
The West Midlands side sacked Gerrard following last night's 3-0 defeat by Fulham, in which Tyrone Mings scored an own goal and midfielder Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card.
Villa have now begun their search for a new manager and will also require a new set of backroom staff after clearing out their current crop, all of whom spent time working for the Reds.
READ MORE: Liverpool could be about to get unexpected Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz replacement
READ MORE: Steven Gerrard sacked by Aston Villa after Fulham defeat
Gary McAllister is among those departing, having served as Gerrard's assistant since his appointment in November last year. The Scot previously enjoyed a brief stint as a first-team coach at Liverpool in 2015, though saw this opportunity come to an end when Brendan Rodgers was dismissed.
Neil Critchley is another name now no longer employed by Villa, having left his role at Blackpool to become an assistant head coach at Villa Park back in June. Critchley became a well-respected figure at Liverpool for his work at Academy level, enjoyed stints leading the under-18s and under-23s before leaving in 2020 to take on his first senior managerial challenge.
Technical coach Tom Culshaw has become the third causality of the backroom staff and may well reunite with Gerrard when the time comes for the legendary midfielder to take on another job. Culshaw worked as Gerrard's assistant for Liverpool under-18s and later followed the 42-year-old to Scotland to form part of his team at Ibrox.
Jordan Milsom (fitness coach) and Scott Mason (first-team lead performance analyst) complete the exits from Villa. Milsom spent time in a similar position for a period of eight years before joining Gerrard at Rangers, meanwhile Mason was an analyst for the Reds' under-18s at the same time the Liverpool legend was in charge of the team.
Reflecting on these changes, an Aston Villa statement read : "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.”
READ NEXT:
- 'Bring him back' - Liverpool fans torn on Steven Gerrard after Aston Villa sacking
- FSG chief Sam Kennedy hints at future Liverpool stadium plan after £80m Anfield Road work
- Jurgen Klopp hints at dangerous new 'combination' he is about to unleash at Liverpool
- Liverpool could be about to get unexpected Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz replacement
- Jurgen Klopp faces Mohamed Salah decision as Liverpool ponder new attacking option
