Aston Villa Sack Steven Gerrard

Aston Villa have sacked manager Steven Gerrard following Thursday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham.

Villa have won just twice in the league this season and only sit above the relegation zone on goals scored.

First-team coach Aaron Danks will take charge of the team for Sunday’s home game against Brentford.

In a statement on Friday, Villa chief executive Christian Purslow said objectives “had not been achieved” under Gerrard.

“The board has come to this decision following a full evaluation of results and performances over the calendar year,” he said.

“We were clear when we appointed Steven that we set an objective of continuous improvement but that has not been achieved despite everybody’s best efforts and we believe the time is right to make these changes now.

“The process of appointing a new head coach is under way and we will update supporters as soon as possible.”