Aston Villa have sacked manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Robbie Savage
Pundit Robbie Savage has told BBC Radio Five Live’s Football Daily that he thinks Steve Bruce should be the next Aston Villa manager, despite his allegiances to Birmingham City.
Villa only appointed Roberto Di Matteo over the summer, but after just 124 days in charge of the club, the Italian has lost his job following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away at Preston North End.
With just one win in 11 league games, Di Matteo struggled to reverse Villa’s fortunes following their relegation from the Premier League, and owner Tony Xia has now decided it’s time for change.
A number of managers have already been linked with moves to replace Di Matteo in the Villa Park hot seat, but Steve Bruce is the current favourite to take the reins.
Bruce, 55, won promotion from the Championship with Hull City last season, but left the Tigers before the start of the Premier League season, and remains out of work.
A proven manager with a strong track record, Bruce appears to be the ideal candidate – except for his ties to Villa’s fierce city rivals Birmingham City.
Former Hull manager Steve Bruce
Bruce played more than 80 games for the Blues during the 1990’s, and spent almost six years in charge of the club as their manager, winning two promotions from the second tier with the St. Andrews side.
That extensive history with Birmingham means that Bruce would be something of a controversial choice from Villa, as they risk angering fans who are already frustrated by appointing him, having seen a similar move for Alex McLeish blow up in their faces back in 2011.
Steve Bruce during his time as Birmingham City Manager
However, pundit Robbie Savage – who played under Bruce for Birmingham – has told BBC Radio Five Live’s Football Daily that he thinks Bruce is the right man for the job, and pointed to his strong record against Villa as something that should be remembered.
“Steve Bruce for me. He took Birmingham up, he took Hull up,” said Savage. “He won’t have to travel, he won’t have to uproot. It would suit Steve Bruce at this moment in time in his career.”
“When we were in the Premier League, we absolutely battered them time after time,” said Savage. “I think Villa fans will remember that. They had better players than us but we had this team spirit, this togetherness and we battered them more times than not in massive pressure games.”
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