Steve Bruce sacked: John Terry favourite to take over after Aston Villa swing axe after poor start to Championship season
Assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh are leaving their posts with immediate effect after having their contracts terminated
Sponsored by
STEVE BRUCE has been sacked by Aston Villa - and John Terry is the favourite to replace him.
The club have acted in the wake of the 3-3 draw with Championship strugglers Preston, where Villa missed a last-minute penalty.
They also threw away a two-goal lead in the game, and only equalised for 3-3 in second-half injury time.
SunSport have reported how Terry, who played for the club last season, is the bookies' favourite at 3/1 to succeed the 57-year-old at the helm.
Bruce was appointed as boss in October 2016, but has arguably never convinced fans that he is the man to lead them back to the Premier League.
He is the first manager to lose their job in the Championship so far this season.
Assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh are leaving their posts with immediate effect after having their contracts terminated.
A club statement issued on behalf of the board said: “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 U23s manager, will be in charge of the team for our trip to Millwall on Saturday.”
And there were angry scenes at Villa Park on Tuesday night, as the beleaguered boss had a CABBAGE launched at his head.
Latest Aston Villa News
Before a ball had even been kicked, one supporter smuggled in the vegetable and aimed for the 57-year-old.
It didn't hit Brucey but he admitted after the 3-3 draw that he was fully aware that the vegetable was launched in his direction.
He said after the game: "To say it's disappointing is an understatement for a club like this. It was before we had even started too.
"I find the whole thing hugely disrespectful. Unfortunately, it sums up the society we are in at the moment. There's no respect for anyone.
“Certainly for someone like the bloke who is being questioned...I'm surprised he knew what a cabbage was.”
Most Read In Football
The clash had a bit of everything including Villa's Glenn Whelan missing a 94th minute penalty to snatch all three points.
They went 2-0 ahead before James Chester conceded a penalty and received a red card in the 56th minute.
In the 79th it was 2-2 before Preston thought they had won it in the 86th minute.
But Yannick Bolasie equalised in the 91st before Whelan, who had scored once in eight years, saw his tame penalty saved.
Despite the drama, most of the talk was over #CabbageGate.