Derby next manager latest: Ex-Aston Villa boss favourite after Warne sack
Derby County could be in line to hire a former Aston Villa boss as their new manager after sacking Paul Warne on Friday.
The Rams announced the news on 7 January after a run of poor performances left them sitting 22nd in the Championship and firmly in a relegation battle.
As a result, the East Midlands outfit are on the lookout for a new head coach and a familiar face to the Villa faithful may be set to take over at Pride Park.
Steven Gerrard favourite for Derby County job
As a job in the second tier comes up, Steven Gerrard is always likely to be in the running as he looks to get his managerial career back on track.
The ex-England international was well-respected during his spell with Rangers but that all came crashing down at Villa Park.
Since departing B6, the 44-year-old has gone on to manage Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia where he has once again had a tough time in the dugout.
As a result, the Liverpool legend may be eying a return to England and as it stands, he is the odds-on favourite to take the Derby job.
Gerrard currently comes in at 11/8 to become the head coach at Pride Park, giving him a 42.1 per cent chance of becoming Rams boss, according to Gambling.com (7 February).
This places the ex-Villa man ahead of the likes of Russell Martin at 2/1 and Steve Cooper at 5/2.
Former Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard odds-on for new job
It is safe to say that there are few fond memories of the ex-midfielder at Villa Park given how short his tenure was before turning sour.
Compared to the likes of Dean Smith and Unai Emery, the Englishman was highly negative and regularly spoke about other teams being better than Villa which never quite sat right with fans.
His treatment of club captain, at the time, Tyrone Mings also rubbed supporters up the wrong way and also resulted in a downward turn in form for new skipper John McGinn.
Other than the addition of Boubacar Kamara in his one and only summer window in charge, there is almost nothing that the Villans would like to remember about his tenure as head coach.
It says a lot that from looking upwards in the Premier League at Villa Park, Gerrard could now be on his way to a Championship relegation battle.