October 4, 2018

Dean Smith has emerged as favourite to become the next manager of Aston Villa following the sacking of Steve Bruce.

Steve Bruce has been under increased pressure of late with Villa’s poor performances in The Championship where they have picked up just one win in their last 10 games under his reign. Chants of “We want Brucie out” were heard from fans in the Holte End during Villa’s 3-3 draw at home to Preston on Tuesday evening and those supporters got their wish the following day when the club announced Bruce’s departure. Bruce’s assistants Colin Calderwood, Gary Walsh, Stephen Clemence and Steve Agnew have also had their contracts terminated and will leave the club.

A statement released by the club read:

“We would like to place on record our gratitude to Steve and his team for their hard work and commitment. We wish them well for the future.

“The process of recruiting a new manager has begun. In the meantime, Kevin MacDonald, Aston Villa U23s manager, will be in charge of the team for our trip to Millwall on Saturday.”

Bruce’s departure was expected after the club sit a disappointing 13th in the table and 7 points off leaders Leeds. Villa missed out on returning to the Premier League last season in their final game against Fulham who ultimately took their spot after Tom Cairney’s goal gave the visitors a 1-0 victory. After going so close last season, their current position in the league is deemed unacceptable.

Prior to Bruce’s departure, all-time Arsenal top-scorer Thierry Henry was favourite to take over after expressing an interest in the post. The bookies were offering odds of 5/2 for the Frenchman which have now been cut to 4/1 following the announcement of Bruce’s exit, with current Brentford manager Dean Smith now favourite at odds of 2/1 from yesterday’s 6/1. Brentford currently sit 7 places above Aston Villa in The Championship in 6th place with 17 points. Betvictor currently have the highest odds on Smith taking charge at odds of 4/1. If you fancy that bet, you can claim the Betvictor free bet of £60 as a new customer.

Sam Allardyce was initially 2nd favourite behind Henry but his odds have been slashed to 10/1 and now FC Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca (9/2) is favoured behind Smith with ex Chelsea and Aston Villa defender John Terry third choice at odds of 7/1. Another outsider for the job is current Celtic boss Brenden Rodgers who has also been linked to the Man United job should Jose Mourinho depart.

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