It would be a ‘huge mistake’ for Aston Villa to sack Tim Sherwood, assistant Ray Wilkins tells talkSPORT

Aston Villa assistant Ray Wilkins has said the club would be making a ‘huge mistake’ if they decided to sack manager Tim Sherwood.

Reports on Thursday morning suggested the former Tottenham coach’s role at Villa Park is hanging by a thread, after owner Randy Lerner met with senior club officials in the States.

The west midlands club are currently in the bottom three after just one win - a 1-0 opening day victory over Bournemouth - from their opening eight games of the new Premier League season.

Axed Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers and Real Sociedad manager David Moyes have both been linked with the job as pressure on Sherwood increases, but Villans number two Wilkins has called for the club to stick with the 46-year-old.

Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, he said: “When you’re a Premier League manager you’re dreading the season’s first sacking, because once the first goes the rest seem to buck up a bit of courage and follow suit.

“I think it would be a huge mistake as far as Tim and Aston Villa are concerned.

“He’s an up-and-coming manager, he did extremely well at Tottenham and let’s not forget, it was only six or seven months ago that we were in the FA Cup final and staved off relegation.

“So we really shouldn’t really be talking about this type of situation. We’ll get there, it’s going to be a lot of hard work but we’ll get there in the finish.”

Villa take on defending champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but the Villans assistant believes this is the best time for under-pressure Sherwood to take on the struggling Blues, who are currently down in 16th after just two wins.

“It’s very unusual to see Chelsea in this condition and we’re going to go there with a positive mind set and try to get the best result we can,” Wilkins added.

“We’re under no illusions, it’s going to be extremely tough for us

“But Chelsea are going through a bit of a difficult time at the moment, so it’s a good time for us to meet them.”