Steven Gerrard has spoken for the first time since he was sacked by Premier League strugglers Aston Villa on Thursday night.
Gerrard was dismissed with Villa 17th in the table, sitting outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. The West Midlands club won just two of their first 11 Premier League fixtures this term, with a 3-0 defeat at Fulham proving to be the final straw for Gerrard.
The Liverpool legend was only appointed by Villa 11 months ago after leading Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title. Gerrard was tasked with leading Villa into Europe, but results started to slip at the back end of last season and he couldn't turn things around.
In an Instagram post on Friday evening, Gerrard said: "I would like to thank everyone connected to Aston Villa Football Club, for the support shown to me during my time there. I would personally like to thank the board of directors, the players and all the staff for their hard work.
"To the fans, it is regrettable that it didn’t work out in the end, but I owe you a debt of gratitude for the way you welcomed me into your club, and continued to push the team on during difficult times. Aston Villa is a club with a special history, I really wanted to bring back those memorable achievements, unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I wish everyone at the club all the very best for the future. SG."
Villa sacked Gerrard within hours of the defeat to Fulham and confirmed the news with a brutal 41-word statement on their website. "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future," said a spokesperson.
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Gerrard knew he was danger of being sacked after Thursday night's game. "It's tough but I'm a man, I accept it," he told Amazon Prime Video. "I understand it, I can feel their frustration, I'm frustrated with them [too]. It was a tough night for me, personally."
When asked about the sack, Gerrard added: "I understand the situation we are I am. I am a fighter and I will never quit. We will see what happens."
Fans are now wondering what's next for Gerrard. The 42-year-old was one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. He won nine trophies - including the Champions League - and was named UEFA's Club Footballer of the Year in 2005.
Gerrard made a bright start to his managerial career by ending Celtic's domestic dominance in Scotland at Rangers. Yet his spell at Villa will leave many club chiefs wondering if he can be trusted with another Premier League job.
Villa captain John McGinn told Amazon Prime Video after the Fulham defeat: "We're disappointed. That doesn't represent us as players and it's embarrassing to be involved in. We've let the supporters down, let the manager down and let ourselves down.
"This is part of football and part of representing a big club. We need to start performing, there's far too many of us not doing well enough at the moment. We do have the ability to that but we're not hitting those levels and that's the disappointing thing. We understand the fan's anger but we need to try and ignore that. We apologise to them and we just need to get ready for Sunday now."
