Steve Bruce and Steve Clarke are thought to the frontrunners for the Aston Villa job.
Following the sacking of Roberto di Matteo earlier this week, Aston Villa are now in the hunt for their fourth manager in less than a year.
According to the Sun, the two outstanding candidates are currently Steve Clarke and Steve Bruce.
The former is currently in temporary charge after being part of Di Matteo’s backroom team, while Bruce has been out of work since leaving Hull City in the summer.
Both have vast experience to their names, especially in the Championship where they have managed in the past.
Hull manager Steve Bruce
Clarke was in charge of Reading last season, while Bruce led the Tigers to the Premier League via the play-offs.
So who was the better of the two in the second tier last season? We decided to take a look.
To keep things fair, we only compared them up until Clarke was sacked on December 4th, rather than across the whole season.
As it transpires Bruce was the clear winner as he came out on top in all eight of the areas analysed.
Reading manager Steve Clarke
In 19 games his side managed more wins, ten compared to seven, fewer draws and fewer defeats.
That saw his Hull City side pick up 35 points from a possible 57, while Clarke’s Reading team picked up 27.
Bruce’s team also scored more goals per game, 1.47 compared to 1.37, as well as creating more big chances per game.
They were slightly better defensively as they won more tackles per game, while they registered 44 more accurate passes per game also.
Hull manager Steve Bruce and Derby manager Darren Wassall
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