Liverpool’s plan to succeed Jurgen Klopp as manager may have just taken a huge setback

Steven Gerrard has been sacked as Aston Villa manager.

The Liverpool legend has been relieved of his duties less than a year into the job after suffering a 3-0 loss to Fulham in the Premier League last night.

The defeat leaves Villa 17th in the table, having taken just nine points from their opening 11 games.

A Villa statement said: "Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect.

"A club spokesman said: 'We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future'."

Gerrard's departure from Villa could well have ramificiations on Liverpool in the future.

The former midfielder is regarded as one of the Reds' greatest players in history, having scored 186 goals in 710 appearances and captained the club to Champions League glory in 2005.

Gerrard had been tipped to succeed Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield hot seat in the future. The German’s contract expires in 2026 after extending his deal earlier this year.

Before taking the Villa job, he had earned widespread praise in his first manager job at Rangers.

Gerrard guided the Ibrox outfit to the Scottish Premiership in 2020 and stopped bitter rivals Celtic claiming a 10th title in a row.

Yet if there were any plans from Liverpool owners FSG for Gerrard to take over from Klopp, whose contract expires in 2026 after signing a new deal earlier this year, a rethink may be needed.

Indeed, before the Reds defeated Villa 1-0 in December, Klopp backed Gerrard to become a future manager of his boyhood club.

He said: “The good thing is I have no problem with this sort of thing. I will not be here forever so I would love it to be Stevie! But no I did not feel under pressure today.

“[Steven Gerrard] is obviously a good coach. It is really strange when you meet before the game. A lot of the coaching staff from your own club is strange. They do what they do and everything is okay.”