Steve Bruce appointed Aston Villa manager

Steve Bruce has been appointed manager of Aston Villa, taking on the job of reviving a club that has made a poor start to life in the Championship.

Bruce was confirmed in the role on 12 October, nine days after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked following a 2-0 defeat at Preston North End.

A familiar face in Birmingham

The appointment will raise eyebrows on both sides of the city. Bruce is a former captain and manager of Villa's great rivals, Birmingham City, whom he led to promotion to the Premier League on more than one occasion during his time at St Andrew's.

He has built his managerial reputation on getting teams out of the second tier, and it is that experience that Villa's owners are counting on. The club's stated aim is an immediate return to the Premier League.

A difficult start

Villa were relegated from the Premier League in April, for the first time since the league began in 1992. In June, the Chinese businessman Tony Xia completed his takeover of the club from Randy Lerner for a reported £76 million, and became chairman.

Xia appointed Di Matteo, the former Chelsea manager who won the Champions League in 2012, as manager on 2 June, with his former Chelsea teammate Steve Clarke as assistant. Keith Wyness was appointed chief executive.

The summer brought optimism, but results on the pitch did not follow. A run of poor results left the club well off the pace in the Championship, and the defeat at Deepdale proved the final straw for the new owners.

The task ahead

Bruce inherits a squad that has struggled for consistency and confidence. Villa have found wins hard to come by for well over a year, and the new manager's first job will be to stop the rot and start climbing the table.

He will not have long to settle in. One of the early fixtures on his calendar is the Second City derby against his former club Birmingham City, who have made a strong start to the season under Gary Rowett and are sitting in the play-off places.

A club with a proud history

For all their current troubles, Villa remain one of the biggest names in English football. The club were founded in 1874 and have played at Villa Park since 1897. They have been champions of England seven times and won the European Cup in 1982, beating Bayern Munich in Rotterdam.

They have climbed out of trouble before. Relegated to the Third Division for the only time in their history in 1970, they were back in the top flight within five years under Ron Saunders.

Supporters will be hoping that Bruce can provide a similar lift. With a large part of the season still to play, there is time for Villa to turn things around, but the new manager knows that expectations at Villa Park are high.