Aston Villa confirm manager Steve Bruce has been sacked
The boss has won just one of the last 10 matches and chants of “We want Brucie out” could be heard from supporters during the draw with Preston
Steve Bruce has been sacked as manager of Aston Villa, the Championship club has confirmed.
Aston Villa made the decision to give the 57-year-old the boot, along with his assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh, after a run of one win in ten games.
Tuesday’s action packed 3-3 draw with Preston - where a fan threw a cabbage at him - was his final match in charge at Villa Park.
Villa are currently 12th in the Sky Bet Championship after winning just three of their first 11 league games this season.
According to the , Christian Purslow, the chief executive, had always intended to give Bruce until October’s international break to try and turn things around, but has been let down by results and performances.
And now new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have already decided to wield the axe.
“We would like to place on record our gratitude to Steve and his team for their hard work and commitment. We wish them well for the future," a club statement said.
“The process of recruiting a new manager has begun. In the meantime, Kevin MacDonald, Aston Villa U23s manager, will be in charge of the team for our trip to Millwall on Saturday.”
Bruce, who took over in 2016, endured chants of “We want Brucie out” from the Villa Park faithful against Preston and, after the game, hit out at the fan who bizarrely decided to lob the cabbage at him.
Bruce, who has won promotion to the Premier League twice with two different clubs - Birmingham and Hull - replaced Roberto Di Matteo at Villa Park in October 2016.
Former Sheffield United, Huddersfield, Wigan, Crystal Palace and Sunderland boss Bruce guided Villa to the play-off final last season, but they were beaten 1-0 by Fulham and the club's failure to return to the top flight left them financially vulnerable.
Owner Dr Tony Xia was reported to have cash flow problems and the club failed to pay a £4million tax bill in June before reaching an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs soon afterwards.
Former England defender John Terry left the club this summer, while chief executive Keith Wyness and director of football Steve Round also departed Villa Park before the start of this term.
The club announced billionaire businessmen Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris would be investing heavily in the club in July and Bruce's squad was boosted with the arrival of forwards Tammy Abraham and Yannick Bolasie on loan from Chelsea and Everton respectively.
But a summer of upheaval appears to have taken its toll and despite winning their first two league matches, Bruce's side have fallen off the pace at the top of the table.
Villa halted a five-game winless run with victory against Rotherham last month, but Bruce has come under increasing pressure after failing to win any of his last three matches.
