Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is not yet facing the sack by the club but is facing some crunch home games which could go a long way to deciding his fate, according to reliable journalist Alan Nixon.
The Sun writer, who has a proven track record of getting the inside scoop, has been probed by Villa fans about the future of the former Hull boss on his personal Twitter account, but insists that he is safe for now.
It is stated that home games against Rotherham (Tuesday, 18 September) and Sheffield Wednesday (Saturday, 22 September) could determine his fate, but that the fact a couple of new signings, including Yannick Bolasie, have yet to be given much game time has saved him from coming under too much pressure so far.
Opinion
Villa’s start to the season was decent but it has all unravelled over the last couple of weeks, leaving Bruce and his men sitting slap bang in the middle of the Championship. Even despite their money troubles over the summer there was an expectation that the Villans would be pushing for a top six spot and another shot at the playoffs as a minimum, but so far they have not hit the expected heights. Does the blame really lie at Bruce’s door? Well, you have to question a couple of his decisions, such as letting Tommy Elphick depart and using Mile Jedinak as a centre back, but the fact of the matter is some top quality players have not been performing at their best. Add that to the fact some of the new arrivals are still making their way up to speed and the slow start to the new campaign is easily explained. Is it enough to save Bruce? The next few games will be massive for the manager.