A terrible start to the 2017-18 Championship campaign has led many Villa fans to call for the club to sack Steve Bruce – and you can see why. Back in February this year, Bruce apologised to us after a run of seven defeats in eight games.

After Villa signed John Terry, it looked like they had the mettle to take the Championship by the scruff of the neck and storm back where Villa fans would claim they belong – in the Premier League.

Yet, as we all know too well, it didn’t work out like that. As it stands, Villa have had another underwhelming the second flight with two wins in eight matches, which, by anyone’s standards, isn’t good enough. Understandably, some of the bookies are offering low odds on Bruce to be sacked by the end of the season.

But is the situation as cut and dry as that? Let’s take a closer look…

Why some fans don’t like Bruce

Results

As stated above, some fans see Villa’s plight over the last few years as the same old story replayed over and over again. Villa were terrible for much of last season and are still pretty lacklustre, even with the experience and leadership of a former England captain in John Terry. The 3-0 defeat to Cardiff was just unacceptable and it’s only fair to lay blame squarely at the feet of the manager.

‘Boring’

The defeats aside, the three straight draws against Bristol City, Brentford and Middlesbrough highlight just how boring they’ve become. In his open letter to Bruce, our very own Steve Saunders echoes what many of us believe when he says they’re “often set up to avoid defeat [rather than] trying to grab the game and impose ourselves”.

Here’s why I think Bruce needs time…

Some have criticised Bruce for using his two promotions in five years to claim he’s the only man for the job. But that fact alone shows the manager is anything but the ‘dinosaur’ some fans are claiming.

He has a good recent track record and knows what it takes to gain promotion. In total, he’s won promotion four times – twice with Hull City and twice with Birmingham City.

Bruce also has a lot of experience in top flight relegation battles so if or when he does get the club promoted, realistically speaking, he stands as good a chance as anyone else of keeping them there.

No quick fix

The club has done plenty of sacking in recent times – six managers have had the job in as many years. Most fans would agree the state of the club was the main issue – it was rotten to the core. Tony Xia bought the club just over ago and he and Bruce need time to turn it around.

That said, for the optimistic fans out there, the latest football predictions and tips are worth looking out for before placing any bets.

The 3-0 away win at Barnsley shows what the Villains are capable of in this league. Villa are now unbeaten in six league games and have three clean sheets. And the fact Villa have scored three goals in that game shows they have what it takes to bury their rivals.