Steven Gerrard speaks for the first time on being sacked by Aston Villa, releasing a statement after being left go on Thursday.
The club confirmed his exit just one hour after their 3-0 defeat to Fulham, which has left them 17th in the Premier League table, hovering above the relegation zone. You can see the top six favourites to replace him by clicking HERE.
The former Liverpool and England player was in charge of Villa for a year, having departed Rangers last November as successor to Dean Smith.
After a 14th place finish in the Premier League last season, this term has been a huge struggle yet there was a significant outlay on transfers in the summer.
The West Midlands outfit have won just two of their opening 11 games and are level on points and goal difference with Wolves, who currently sit in the bottom three.
Villa aren’t in the drop zone right now having scored nine goals so far this season, while Wolves have netted just five.
A very short club statement on Gerrard’s exit read: “Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect.
“We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”
Gerrard himself wrote: “I would like to thank everyone connected to Aston Villa Football Club, for the support shown to me during my time there. I would personally like to thank the board of directors, the players and all the staff for their hard work.
“To the fans, it is regrettable that it didn’t work out in the end, but I owe you a debt of gratitude for the way you welcomed me into your club, and continued to push the team on during difficult times. Aston Villa is a club with a special history, I really wanted to bring back those memorable achievements, unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I wish everyone at the club all the very best for the future.”
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Meanwhile, Douglas Luiz has taken to social media to apologise after getting sent off in Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham.
He will now have to sit out three games (against the likes of Brentford, Newcastle and Man Utd) after seeing a straight red.
Luiz wrote on Twitter: “I come here I apologized for the red card, even though I thought it was not for expulsion, I was not disloyal! But anyway I harmed my team at an important moment! Apologies fans, staff and Aston Villa FC”
Aston Villa’s evening goes from bad to worse…
Douglas Luiz is shown a red card for violent conduct after squaring up to Aleksandar Mitrovic 🔴 #FULAVL | #AVFC
🎬 @primevideosport pic.twitter.com/ovjPpDlKGY
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) October 20, 2022
WHAT GERRARD SAID IN FINAL POST-MATCH INTERVIEW
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “It was nowhere near what I wanted or expected. I picked a very similar team [to the Chelsea game] to try and build on that performance. I was excited to see if we could take it from there.
“If it wasn’t for the goalkeeper it could have been over by half-time. I got in amongst the players at half-time and expected a reaction.
“I expected a reaction in the second half but against a team like Fulham, who are well coached, it’s difficult. Inconsistency has cost us, that’s the position we find ourselves in. I took over the team in a very similar situation. We’ve tried to recruit to get us out of that situation.
“I’m a fighter – it’s in my DNA. I’ll continued to fight unless I’m told differently.”

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