Aston Villa fans yelled at Steven Gerrard to “get out of their club” after his team lost 3-0 to Fulham on Thursday, his final game as manager.
Under-fire When asked if he could turn things around at Aston Villa, Steven Gerrard dodged the question, less than an hour before being sacked after another humiliating defeat.
The Villans were beaten 3-0 at Fulham on Thursday. This left Gerrard’s side just above the relegation zone on goal difference after only nine points from 11 games.
During the game, fans chanted “Steven Gerrard, get out of our club” and “You’ll never work again” as Villa finished with 10 men after Douglas Luiz was sent off.
And, despite his supporters abandoning him, it wasn’t long before the axe was wielded.
“It’s difficult, but I’m a man, I accept it,” the Villa manager, who took over for Dean Smith last November said. “I understand, I feel their frustration, and I am frustrated with them [as well]. Personally, I had a difficult night.”
When asked if he was capable of improving his club’s fortunes, Gerrard admitted: “Let’s wait and see what happens. I understand our current situation. I’m a fighter; I’ll never, ever give up, whether it’s football or anything else in life. So we’ll see what happens in the future.”
The 42-year-old, who boldly left his first senior managerial position at Rangers to take the Villa job, went on to say: “That [performance] fell far short. If you look at how we performed over the weekend, I wanted to replicate it, but we were fortunate to be in the game at halftime. Our keeper kept us in the game. The performance was far from adequate. After what we saw over the weekend, the first half surprised me. We simply did not show up tonight.”
Meanwhile, Gerrard admitted during his press conference at Craven Cottage: “I’m in pain, just like the fans. Let’s wait and see what happens. You and I both know that I’m in a difficult situation right now.”
Villa captain John McGinn echoed his manager’s assessment, despite his team winning just two Premier League games this season. “We are dissatisfied. That does not reflect on us as players, and it is embarrassing to be a part of. We’ve let the fans down, the manager down, and ourselves down “McGinn stated in an interview with Prime Video.
“This is a part of football and being a part of a big club. We need to start performing; there are far too many of us who aren’t doing well enough right now. We have the capability, but we are not reaching those levels, which is disappointing. We understand the fan’s rage, but we must try to ignore it. We apologize to them and must now prepare for Sunday.”