When Steve Bruce took over as manager of Aston Villa early on in October, he made an immediate impact. Unbeaten in seven, five home wins on the trot and Villa’s first away win in 437 days. Heading into the new year with fans finally allowing themselves to believe in an instant return to the premier league, no one would have expected for Bruce’s job to be in question just two months later.
Although Steve Bruce spearheaded one of Aston Villa’s greatest ever January transfer windows, bringing in some of the hottest championship stars in the form of Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury and Scott Hogan, as well as young talents James Bree and Jacob Bedeau, performances on the pitch have left much to be desired. The claret and blue outfit have picked up just four points in 2017, and after a dire run of five consecutive defeats, even the most optimistic of fans have stopped looking at the ever-increasing gap from the playoffs, and have started cautiously looking over their shoulder.
Even though the West-Midlands based club have spent over £40 million on strikers since Dr Tony Xia bought the club in the summer, they have scored just 31 times this season, leaving them with the second worst goalscoring tally in the championship. Due to their surprising inability to hit the back of the net, it appears that the Villa faithful may be in for yet another relegation battle. Even after a scrappy 1-0 victory over Derby, rumours have been flying that Steve Bruce’s short reign could be brought to an abrupt halt.
Aston Villa’s Chief Executive Keith Wyness, however, has put these rumours to bed. In an interview with BBC West Midlands, he said, “Absolutely no question that we’re sticking with Steve. He will be in charge next season”
He went on to declare that even if the unimaginable was to occur, successive relegations for the sleeping giant, Dr Xia would not lose faith in the ex-Manchester United player, in an attempt to bring stability to the club.
