Aston Villa have sacked manager Steve Bruce after a disappointing start to the season which has left the Villains in 12th place in the Championship, with 15 points from 11 games.
Bruce oversaw his side play out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Preston North End in the Championship last night, with Glenn Whelan missing a stoppage time penalty kick to give his manager a much needed win.
Bruce had a cabbage thrown at him by a disgruntled fan in the run up to the game and the angst of the Villa support was palpable throughout the match as Villa squandered a two goal lead and it seems that the owners have caved to the negative feeling surrounding Bruce's position a the club.
John Terry has emerged as a candidate to replace Bruce at Villa Park, with Thierry Henry, Sam Allardyce, Sami Hyypia and Mick McCarthy other names currently being touted by the bookies.
Here is the statement the club released confirming the decision to relieve Bruce of his duties:
Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that manager Steve Bruce and his assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh are leaving their posts with immediate effect after having their contracts terminated. The process to appoint a new manager is under way.
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.
The process of recruiting a new manager has begun. In the meantime, Kevin MacDonald, Aston Villa Under-23s manager, will be in charge of the team for our trip to Millwall on Saturday.
