Following Thursday's 3-0 Premier League defeat against Fulham, Aston Villa fired manager Steven Gerrard.

Villa have only won twice in the league this season and are only one point above the relegation zone in terms of goals scored.

Aaron Danks, the club's first-team coach, will take command of the team for Sunday's home game against Brentford.

Villa chief executive Christian Purslow stated in a statement on Friday that Gerrard's goals "had not been met."

"The board has come to this decision following a full evaluation of results and performances over the calendar year," he said.

"We were clear when we appointed Steven that we set an objective of continuous improvement but that has not been achieved despite everybody's best efforts and we believe the time is right to make these changes now.

"The process of appointing a new head coach is under way and we will update supporters as soon as possible."

The statement also confirmed that Gary McAllister, Neil Critchley, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Scott Mason have also left the club following Gerrard's departure.

Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith as Villa manager in November 2021 after leaving his role at Rangers.

But the former England and Liverpool midfielder, 42, led Villa to only 13 wins from 40 games during his 11 months in charge.