Why Steve Bruce Needs to Be Given Time by Aston Villa Fans Despite the Poor Start to the Season

It may be just three games into the new Football League season, but Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is already feeling the strain.

The Claret and Blues were joint favourites with bookmakers to gain promotion before the start of the season, but having only taken a single point from the opening three matches, Bruce is reportedly now just three games away from the sack.

Worryingly for the former Birmingham manager it now appears that a large section of Villa supporters have lost faith in him, and want to see him sacked.

Twitter account @villareport ran a poll earlier this week, where over 5,000 fans voted on whether they wanted Bruce 'in' or 'out'. And incredibly, 65% of Villa supporters voted 'out', and believe the club should start searching for a new manager.

Yet, in all honesty this seems a bit hasty from those at Villa Park.

In reality, the season is still just three games underway and much can change between now and May. There is still plenty of time for Bruce to turn this ship around, something a section of fans will still believe he can, and will do.

Undoubtedly Villa have endured a pretty dismal start to the season, but every side in the league will experience lull points during the campaign. For Villa, it may simply have come in August.

Newcastle - last season's Championship winners - were only two points better off this time last year, than Villa are now.

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In fact, the Magpies lost ten games throughout the season, and play-off winners Huddersfield lost 15 matches in 2016/17, highlighting that slip-ups in the Championship are not fatal.

A number of Villa fans are also bemoaning the club's lack of progress under Bruce, but in reality, the 56-year-old's win ratio of 40% is far superior than his predecessor Roberto Di Matteo, who had a meagre win percentage of just eight.

Villa have earned a unwanted record for their high turnover of managers in recent seasons, a tactic which has not boded well for the Villans. In the past three years, the Midlands club have sacked four managers and have only continued to slide under each new boss.

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Perhaps a change of strategy and allowing a manager time to rectify the situation, could result in a more successful outcome.

The past number of years have been horrific for Villa and their fans, and now more than ever the club need stability in order to grow. The question also remains; who could replace Bruce in the Villa Park dugout?

Names such as Aitor Karanka, Alan Pardew and David Moyes have all been muted, but there is certainly no standout candidate.

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It should not be forgotten that Bruce has gained promotion from the Championship on four occasions, and Villa will not find a manager with a better record at this level.

There is no doubt that the Villans' start has been poor, and Bruce, as well as his players, must find a way to transform the team's fortunes on the pitch. If after ten games Villa are still struggling at the wrong end of the table, then it is time to seriously consider Bruce's position, but not now, after just three matches.