Aston Villa made a resounding start to life after Steven Gerrard as a 15-minute blitz paved the way for a 4-0 win over Brentford at Villa Park.
Gerrard was fired late on Thursday night following the 3-0 defeat at Fulham, with first-team coach Aaron Danks thrust into caretaker charge and he got the perfect response from the Villa players as they ran riot in the opening quarter of an hour.
Leon Bailey's strike and Danny Ings’ brace blew the Bees away and put them on course for just a third win of the season, with Ollie Watkins’ goal on the hour adding the gloss on a memorable afternoon.
It must have been painful viewing for Gerrard in the unlikely event he was watching, having constantly called on his front players to deliver more in the final few weeks of his reign.
Perhaps a performance like this coming immediately after the former England captain’s exit speaks volumes, but it reinforces the capabilities Villa have and any possible new manager will be enthused.
It may be too early for Danks to be considered a candidate but he has shown he is a safe pair of hands while the search continues, with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim still the heavy favourite.
Bees boss Thomas Frank is also among the bookmakers' favourites for the role, but his chances will not have been boosted by the dismal showing of his team as they await their first away win of the campaign.
Danks, who made the bold decision to drop captain John McGinn, could not have dreamed of a better start to life in the Villa dugout as his side surged into a 3-0 lead.
They needed only 63 seconds to go in front as a well-worked corner routine saw Douglas Luiz tee up Bailey, whose low shot 12 yards out found the bottom corner.
It got better six minutes later as Ings doubled the
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John Macginn
Thomas Frank
Aston Villa
Steven Gerrard
Danny Ings
Ollie Watkins
Leon Bailey
Sporting Lisbon
Ruben Amorim
Brentford