next boss

John Terry favourite to be next Aston Villa manager and replace Dean Smith with Frank Lampard and Paulo Fonseca also among top candidates

Aston Villa will be drawing up their shortlist of candidates to replace Dean Smith, who was sacked as manager on Sunday.

A run of five straight Premier League defeats was enough to convince the club’s hierarchy that a change was needed.

It had been a summer of transition following the sale of Jack Grealish to Man City for £100million with a number of new players signed as a result.

There were also changes to Smith’s backroom staff with assistants John Terry and Richard O’Kelly leaving.

Former Villa player Andy Townsend admitted he was ‘shocked and disappointed’ the manager had not been given more time to turn things around.

The club will now be drawing up a list of ideal replacements with Terry the evens favourite, according to Betfair.

It is a club he already knows well having finished his playing career there and being part of Smith’s staff.

He is still inexperienced in a top job, though, with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca at 7/2 if they wanted a more someone who has been at a top club before.

Former Derby and Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is 5/1, while current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is 12/1.

Next Aston Villa manager odds

John Terry – Evens

Paulo Fonseca – 7/2

Frank Lampard – 5/1

Steven Gerrard – 12/1

Chris Wilder – 14/1

Nuno Espirito Santo – 14/1

Lucien Favre – 16/1

Scott Parker – 16/1

Graham Potter – 20/1

Ronald Koeman – 25/1

Thierry Henry – 25/1

Andre Villas-Boas – 33/1

Daniel Farke – 33/1

Roy Hodgson – 33/1

Steve Bruce – 33/1

Sam Allardyce – 33/1

Roberto Martinez – 33/1

Marco Silva – 40/1

Jose Mourinho – 50/1

Townsend backed Terry to land the top job at the club as he reacted to the news live on talkSPORT.

“I think John has all the credentials to be a proper manager,” he told talkSPORT. “If he did want to take the job, I would not have any complaints about that whatsoever.

“I would love to see John do it, but however, I don’t think he needed to leave Aston Villa to become number one.

“If he genuinely felt like that, it might have been the natural progression over time anyway.”