Ex-Liverpool star Steven Gerrard reportedly 'sacked' after shock cup defeat

Reports in Saudi Arabia have ‘claimed’ that Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has lost his job at Al-Ettifaq.

Gerrard, 44, is currently 16 months into his £15.2m-a-year contract but pressure has been mounting on him across recent weeks. Despite winning four of their first five games of the season, they’ve won just once across six games and sit 10th in the Saudi Pro League.

A report from Saudi Sport in the Middle East has claimed that Gerrard has lost his job but there has been no official confirmation from Ettifaq. With no wins in five and unrest in the media and from fans, it may well be a matter of time.

To make matters worse, suffering a 3-1 defeat to second-division side Al-Jabalain FC last night in the Saudi Cup was a huge setback. Saudi-based pundit Nasser Al-Jedaie has been fiercely critical of Gerrard's management. He said: 'Gerrard served Al-Ettifaq outside the field, but there are no results for the technical work. What is the project that Gerrard is leading?'

Furthermore, Sports journalist Turki Al-Ajmah also believes Gerrard's time is up after Al-Ettifaq's latest humiliation, while his colleague Mohammed Al-Sadaan branded Gerrard's situation 'sad' and urged him to step down.

There’s also the news that Gerrard has moved training to the night time to ensure he can always watch Liverpool play live - something which may be contributing to their recent form. Speaking to The Redmen TV, he said: 'John [Achterberg, goalkeeping coach] and I have got more than one eye on it. We put all our schedule around the Liverpool games. The players are onto me now; we’ve been training at 9 or 10 at night.'

There are three games left before the international break but they face fifth-place Al Qadsiah FC and last year’s reigning champions Al-Hilal which they may begin as underdogs given recent form. There’s also a AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League clash between those two games to contend with, as they face Al Qadsia. However, with Gerrard’s job, we can only wait for any official confirmation.