Steve Bruce appears keen to stay on as Aston Villa’s manager, despite a disappointing play-off final defeat to Fulham last weekend.  

Villa missed out on a Premier League return over the weekend, with Fulham beating Bruce’s side 1-0 at Wembley.

The Villa Park club are now facing a third consecutive year in the Sky Bet Championship, with a difficult summer now ahead.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Bruce seems keen to have another go at promotion next season at Villa Park, with the report referencing Bruce’s comments in the aftermath of Saturday’s defeat:

“I will roll my sleeves up and get stuck into it again next season as long as the people above me see that I’m fit to do it, I will carry on.”

As Villa look ahead to next season, Dr Tony Xia, the club’s owner, released a statement and, whilst he thanked Bruce for his work over the season, he didn’t commit to whether the 57-year-old would be in-charge next season.

Xia’s statement was closely followed by another from Villa, with confirmation coming that John Terry, who captained the club throughout the 2017/18 campaign, would be moving on after failure to secure Premier League football.

The Verdict

The emotion from the play-off defeat will still be at the surface for all associated with Villa, so no quick decisions on Bruce’s future need to be made.

The fact that Bruce is keen to carry on is encouraging, as there are going to be all kinds of change next season.

Villa’s playing squad is likely to have a completely different look to it, and keeping Bruce in charge seems like a sensible option ahead of next year.

Bruce will provide some much-needed continuity.

Aston Villa fans… Let us know your thoughts!