According to Alan Shearer, Steven Gerrard’s dismissal as Aston Villa manager just hours after their 3-0 Premier League thrashing at the hands of Fulham was ‘inevitable.’
Gerrard’s time as Villa manager came to an end on Thursday evening, less than a year after taking over at the Midlands club after leaving Rangers in November 2021.
Following a string of humiliating defeats, including a 10-man defeat at Craven Cottage on Thursday, pressure had mounted on the 42-year-old to be fired as Villa manager.
Villa chiefs finally decided to fire the ex-Liverpool captain following their latest defeat, with former Spurs and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino being touted as a possible replacement.
Shearer admitted that managing in the Premier League was a “results-driven business,” and that Gerrard will be “bitterly disappointed” after failing to meet his targets at Villa Park.
‘You know it’s a results-driven business. ‘Every manager who walks into a football club knows,’ Shearer said.
‘At this level, you don’t get time. You have to get results, and he’ll be bitterly disappointed that he hasn’t been able to improve them from where they were when he took over to where they are now. Unfortunately, the unavoidable occurs.
‘I also don’t think losing his top coach [Michael Beale] helped.’ He was obviously an important part of what was going on at AV, and for him to lose that on top of everything else…’
Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer, took over as interim manager of his boyhood club Newcastle in 2009 and has since established a successful career as a pundit.
Gerrard left his final game as manager to distasteful chants from visiting fans demanding his removal, with Villa chiefs in attendance acting on their supporters’ wishes after the final whistle.
Former Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey said he was ‘gutted’ to see Gerrard sacked and admitted his departure was not unexpected. The 44-year-old also urged Villa’s players to “take a look in the mirror.”