Aston Villa linked with Mauricio Pochettino as Steven Gerrard fights on
Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as a candidate to succeed Steven Gerrard should the under-fire Villa boss fail to engineer a revival in fortunes.
Gerrard is battling to save his job and has entered the most pivotal week of his reign, with Thursday’s trip to Fulham and Sunday’s home match with Brentford likely critical to his future.
Former Tottenham boss Pochettino is thought to be the club’s preferred target should they decide to make a change. The 50-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Paris St-Germain in July and was linked with Chelsea before their appointment of Graham Potter.
Convincing him to join a club in the bottom half of the Premier League, outside the established elite would be far from straightforward – yet ambitious Villa would be prepared to try as they look for a manager capable of taking them to the next level.
Gerrard was intended to be that man when he replaced Dean Smith last November, but the former Liverpool and England captain is struggling to prove he can fulfil the remit.
Villa head to Fulham sat 16th in the table, exactly the same position they were when Gerrard took the reins and a return of just nine points from the first 10 Premier League matches, which has seen his team score just seven goals, has caused supporters to lose patience.
Gerrard was booed and heckled by a section of fans following Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea. Though Villa’s performance was among their best of the season, the pressure is on to deliver positive results in the next two matches.
The home side were denied by a stunning performance from Chelsea’s keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and striker Danny Ings has urged his team-mates to keep believing as they prepare for the trip to Craven Cottage.
“It’s difficult at the moment, the chances just aren’t going in for us,” said Ings.
“Football is all about momentum, you can build that up. It is important we keep believing in ourselves.
“As players, after a loss, you want the next game to come as quick as possible. It’s a huge game and one we believe we can win.
“If we play as well as we did in games you are going to win quite a few. It is important we put the chances away when they do come and we need to keep believing in ourselves. The goals and the points will come.”
