Aston Villa reportedly have their eye on a potential managerial replacement for Steven Gerrard should he be dismissed by the club.
According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Villa will look to appoint former Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino if they decide to relieve Gerrard of his current duties.
The 50-year-old is vey much NSWE’s preferred candidate, being dubbed ‘the first man Villa will turn to if Gerrard is sacked’, and the club ‘would almost certainly be prepared to wait’ if the Argentine expresses an interest in any future vacancy at Villa Park.
Villa’s struggles under Gerrard
The Villans have won just two of their 10 league games so far this season, drawing three and losing the other five. With seven goals scored and 13 conceded, Gerrard’s side are currently 16th in the table and just one point above the relegation zone.
Additionally, the Midlands outfit currently have the joint-lowest number of goal-creating actions (seven) in the entire division alongside Wolves. They also have the Premier League’s second-highest frequency of players losing possession of the ball after being tackled (129).
This highlights the sticky situation in which Villa find themselves and shows why the manager is reportedly under pressure, and why reports linking the club with other managers should put Gerrard under even more scruitiny.
In the 256 Premier League games that Pochettino has managed throughout his career, the 50-year-old has won 132, drawn 61 and lost 63. This shows the experience that he has of managing in the top flight and being able to win games more often than not.
Now or never for Gerrard
With Villa set to take on Fulham and Brentford in their next two league games, we feel that if Gerrard isn’t able to pick up two positive results from those fixtures, the hierarchy should pull the plug and do all they can to bring Pochettino to the Midlands.
Also, with the World Cup around the corner, this could give the Villa hierarchy a deadline as to what they want to do regarding Gerrard’s position as a result of where they are in the table by that point.
