Improvement at Villa since Stevie G arrived in November? Up two places....

This time last year he was the darling of the media, the hero of Ibrox. He was the man who was going to bring back the glory days.

The Ibrox side were invincible, unbeatable and they were going to dominate Scottish football for a long time to come.

Tom English even said their second string would challenge their first for the league title.

For Stevie, it was the praise he needed to drive his already large ego into overdrive.

If he could win the Scottish Premiership, then he was ready to take the step to the Premier League.

Nothing could stop him now.

All he had to do was sit tight and the opportunities would come knocking on his door.

He didn’t care about the Ibrox side, they were only a stepping stone to greatness.

All paths lead to Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp. Big boots to fill.

But Stevie’s ego could fill his boots ten times over.

Then in November, that opportunity came knocking. Aston Villa wanted him.

It didn’t take much, like a thief in the night, he was gone.

Just like his old Liverpool manager had done two years previous, he snuck away to Birmingham and it was all over before his adoring fans knew what was going on.

On the 11th of November, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth down Govan way.

Inevitably, that misery turned to rage and many a cardboard cut out of Stevie got binned, beaten up and torn apart.

Stevie didn’t care.

He arrived at Villa to find them languishing in 15th spot in the table.

They had just lost to Southampton and found themselves two points outside the relegation zone.

Stevie had a job on his hands, but his ego could handle it and he would be Villa’s saviour.

In his first game in charge, Villa beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 and he was off to a flying start, he had hit the ground