Steven Gerrard 'bitterly disappointed' verdict shared…

Steven Gerrard 'bitterly disappointed' verdict shared by Brendan Rodgers after Aston Villa sack

Brendan Rodgers has offered his sympathies to Steven Gerrard after the former Liverpool captain was sacked by Aston Villa.

Gerrard lasted just eleven months at Villa Park and was eventually dismissed on Thursday evening after a 3-0 defeat to newly-promoted Fulham, which leaves the Villians just three points above the bottom of the Premier League table.

The Anfield icon had been under increasing pressure in recent weeks with his side only winning two league games so far this season and with owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens in attendance at Craven Cottage on Thursday evening, Gerrard's brutal sacking was no surprise.

However, that hasn't stopped his former manager, Rodgers, from jumping to his defence and revealing he is 'bitterly disappointed' at his sacking by the Midlands outfit as he insisted he was the man to fix Villa's troubles.

“I'm bitterly disappointed for Steven, of course, because he did a fantastic job up at Rangers," said Rodgers after Leicester's 2-0 victory over Leeds United. "He got the opportunity to come to the Premier League and I assume ambitions are to be up there in European football.

“It just seems the way of it now that every day a manager is losing his job or under threat to lose their job. Stability and patience seem to be running out in football.

"So I’m really, really disappointed because I believe given time and with that patience, he could have got them to where he wanted them to be and where the club wanted to be."

Despite working together at Anfield as manager and captain from 2012 to 2015, Rodgers and Gerrard went head-to-head during their time in the Scottish Premiership as managers of Celtic and Rangers. While the Northern Irishman achieved the unprecedented feat of treble-treble with Celtic, his departure to join Leicester resulted in Gerrard ending the Bhoys' SPL dominance as he secured Rangers' first league title in ten years.

However, the Leicester City boss is currently feeling the heat himself as his long-term future at the King Power appears to be in doubt due to the Foxes' below-par start to the Premier League season. But, unlike Gerrard, due to Rodgers' previous success, it seems that the club's hierarchy have enough faith in the former Liverpool manager to turn their fortunes around.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here