Analysis: Pressure builds on Steve Bruce after Sheffield United ruthlessly expose Aston Villa’s frailties

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder delivered a rebuke to Bramall Lane announcer Gary Sinclair following a first-half joke at the expense of Villa, yet for Steve Bruce the heaviest defeat of his reign to date was no laughing matter.

An afternoon which offered his team the chance to put themselves firmly among the early-season pacesetters quickly turned into a nightmare, as they were torn apart by the brilliant Blades and tempers boiled over both on and off the field. Not since the 3-0 defeat at Cardiff, right back at the start of last season, had Bruce watched his team so comprehensively outfought.

The defensive frailties which have rarely been far from the surface in this campaign’s opening weeks were efficiently exposed by a home side who effectively had the match won by half-time.

When Sinclair decided to add a bit of humour as the amount of first-half stoppage time was announced, the only remaining question was the size of the home side’s victory. At around the same moment, in one corner of the ground, police and stewards had to intervene as a minority of travelling supporters turned their frustrations on each other.

Much more telling, if far less dramatic, came from those Villa fans who remained in the ground and voiced their displeasure at the manager’s second-half substitutions and at the final whistle.

In nearly two years at the helm, this was the most clear and open dissent Bruce has faced. It said everything about the amount of goodwill erased during a dreadful week in which his team were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup at Burton.

Social media, where the manager has never lacked for critics, was unsurprisingly ablaze on Saturday night. Yet those fans now calling for the club’s owners to immediately wield the axe, though they might have grown in number, are likely to be left disappointed.

Dire as Villa were, the defeat was still their first in the league this season. There is also a recognition that, for now, Bruce’s team remains one in transition, with two of his biggest signings of the transfer window – Tammy Abraham and Yannick Bolasie – still to be added.

For those reasons, the manager will be given more time. That’s not to say Saturday’s defeat was not the type to significantly thin the ice under his feet.

The timing too could barely have been worse. New chief executive Christian Purslow watched the debacle from the stands, while the international break means Bruce must wait two whole weeks before getting the chance to start putting things right.

Abraham and Bolasie should both be available when Villa head to Blackburn on Saturday week. In the meantime, however, there are some other glaring issues which must be addressed and the coming days could be among the most pivotal of Bruce’s reign.

Surely the time has finally arrived for the manager to rethink the make-up of a backline which is leaking goals at a rate of nearly two a game?

The sudden lack of defensive steel which was such a major factor in Villa’s success last season cannot be simply explained by the loss of John Terry.

Bruce has stubbornly persisted with Mile Jedinak at centre-back despite the 34-year-old still failing to convince. On Saturday, the big Australian would surely have been better utilised in a midfield, which became horribly overrun. Instead, his uncertainty in defence appeared to unsettle those team-mates around him, including the usually unflappable James Chester.

Questions must also be asked, again, of goalkeeper Orjan Nyland. After a couple of games when the Norwegian international seemed to be getting to grips with the English game, this felt like a big step back. Nyland was caught out by Ollie Norwood’s quick free-kick for the Blades third goal, while a poor throw out began the build-up to the fourth. His place, at the very least, must be under threat.

Bruce might also reflect on post-match comments which did little to help his cause. The manager blamed his team’s lack of fight on the fact several key players, Jack Grealish and John McGinn among them, had been unable to train during the week due to injury.

That only served to further antagonise supporters, who have heard him use the same excuse several times before. It also further added to the general theme of lessons simply not being learned. Having fielded a weary team, Bruce now faces a battle to prove his own regime hasn’t also become tired.

The manager has found himself in similar situations before and been able to fight his way out.

Yet while Saturday will, for now, be excused as merely a bad day at the office by the club's decision-makers, Bruce will have to ensure it is this season’s low point.

After this, only swift and serious improvement will suffice.