The pressure is mounting on Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce but he is not under any immediate threat to lose his job at the club after their poor start to the season, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that reports suggesting that the former Hull City boss has two games to save his job are wide of the mark but do insist that his job will not be safe if he does fail to secure positive results against Preston North End or Millwall.
However, the report does provide the crucial update that Brentford’s Dean Smith is not up for consideration as a potential replacement for Bruce, the Sun reporter Alan Nixon having claimed he was in the running.
Opinion
While some Villa fans might not like to hear that Bruce has longer than expected, they can take solace in the fact that the pressure is indeed building on the manager and that his position at the club is by no means a comfortable one. What is good news is that Dean Smith is not in the running, for he is quite clearly not the man to take them forward. He might have brought an exciting style of play to the Bees but quite frankly, the dugout at Villa Park is a whole different kettle of fish. The expectations are significantly higher, with a top six spot the bare minimum the club should be expecting this season, and if Bruce does go there needs to be a higher calibre of manager filling the void. The Villans have gambled on unproven talents before and so that really should not be an option, but there could well be some talented coaches out there looking to take their careers to the next level. That is what Villa need to exploit, and get in someone who is experienced enough to manage such a talented squad, but also brings the right brand of football to suit the quality at their disposal.