Aston Villa fire Steven Gerrard

London, Oct 20 (EFE).- Aston Villa fired coach Steven Gerrard on Thursday after the Premier League club lost for the sixth time in 11 outings this season.

Chants of “Steven Gerrard, get out of our club” were heard from Villa fans who made the trip from Birmingham to London for the match against Fulham, which ended in a 3-0 defeat for the visitors.

The result left Villa in 17th place, just above the drop zone, while promoted Fulham climbed to ninth.

“Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect,” the team said on Twitter. “We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”

The 42-year-old former Liverpool and England captain lasted less than a year at Villa Park, posting a record of 13 wins, 8 draws and 19 defeats.

“You know and I know I’m in a difficult position right now,” Gerrard told reporters during the post-match press conference at Craven Cottage.

Villa were 16th in the table when the board fired Dean Smith and turned to Gerrard, who guided the squad to a 14th-place finish last season.

In 17 seasons with Liverpool, the man regarded as one of the best midfielders ever to play the game won two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup.

Gerrard began his coaching career as boss of the Liverpool FC Academy squad, but left Merseyside in 2018 to become head coach at Glasgow Rangers, who went undefeated in 2020-2021 to win the Scottish Premiership for the first time in a decade.

He becomes the fourth Premier League coach to lose his job less than a third of the way through the season, joining Scott Parker (Bournemouth), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea) and Bruno Lage (Wolverhampton). EFE

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