Aston Villa fans target under-fire manager Steven Gerrard after club's latest defeat

Aston Villa lost for the third time in three games this afternoon, as West Ham piled more pressure on manager Steven Gerrard with a 1-0 win in the Premier League.

Pablo Fornals' second half strike was enough for the division's bottom side to secure victory, with those in attendance at Villa Park showing their displeasure at full time.

The Villa faithful also took to Twitter to voice their frustrations, with many calling for Gerrard to leave, suggesting he's out of his depth in charge of the former European Cup winners.

'As soon as Gerrard took Luiz off, we were back to the absolute shambles, shapeless team we always are,' said one user.

'I’ll say it til I’m blue in the face; he is out of his depth. That won’t change until he’s gone.'

Another replied: 'He's toxic, arrogant and thinks it's all about him. I'm sure he's upset the dressing room, I don't see any togetherness in that team anymore.'

'Please just sack Gerrard now,' begged another.

'Don’t think about it, don’t discuss it, don’t have dinner first & then sleep on it. Just sack him. If you want to put a smile on every Villa fans face tonight, sack Gerrard now.'

Gerrard, who won Rangers their first Scottish Premiership title in ten years in his first managerial job, has been criticised for not knowing his best team or system despite the season being now four games deep.

He's swapped between a diamond formation and three up front, but that's only earned him more criticism from Villa fans.

'The problem with Gerrard isn't just his lack of a preferred formation or refusal to drop favourites in favour of in-form players - the problem is also he can't see the obvious,' said @MaxGarfield2003.

'Relentlessly crossing against West Ham, known for their aerial dominance, is just plain stupid. '

'Not all his fault, but Gerrard is clueless,' added another fan.

'How can you have players like Buendia, Bailey, Coutinho in a squad an not even look anywhere near like scoring. I know stats say we get more points with Ings and Watkins together but this formation isn't right.'

The former Liverpool man has also been criticised for his treatment of Leon Bailey, who found himself back on the bench this week despite an impressive performance last time out.

'Fully expect Bailey to leave before the end of the window,' said @VillaJakeF1.

'There’s no way he wants to be part of this if relegated to the bench each week. Another master stroke from Gerrard.'

Villa are now 15th in the Premier League table, trying to build on a disappointing 14th last season.

Gerrard replaced Dean Smith in November 2021, but is yet to have the desired impact many thought he would have.

Villa face Arsenal, Manchester City and Leicester in their next three games, so things don't get any easier for the 42-year-old, and with fans already on his back, he needs things to turn around for his side sooner rather than later.