Graeme Souness has defended Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard amidst rumours that he is on the brink of losing his job.
Villa have struggled this season and currently sit 16th in the Premier League, just two points off the relegation zone with only nine points after 10 games.
Rumours have intensified since the loss to Chelsea with reports claiming that the club has even parted ways with the former Rangers manager - but those reports have been swiftly dismissed by the club and Gerrard remains in charge.
Souness has come out and defended Gerrard as he believes that their performance in the 2-0 home loss to Chelsea was positive and he should be given time to turn it around despite another loss.
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Souness said on talkSPORT: "Go back a week when they were at Forest, it was a pretty miserable performance.
"But against Chelsea I thought they were really good at times and I think Villa supporters should be encouraged by that.
"They are in a difficult moment but if you are a supporter looking at Villa at the weekend, you are thinking: 'Our guys can actually play, we can take the big guys on and be better than them'.
"That is what you have to believe you are going to get going forward. So cut Steven some slack."
Reports have revealed that the former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is among the frontrunners to replace Gerrard.
During his time in Paris, Pochettino won three trophies including the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France before parting ways in the summer.
