Steve Bruce has revealed that he wishes to stay on as Aston Villa manager, despite failing to beat Fulham in the Championship playoff final on Saturday.
The Lions lost 1-0 to Slavisa Jokanovic's side at Wembley as Tom Cairney scored the winner for Fulham, meaning that Villa face a third successive season in the Championship.
Despite their promotion setbacks, Bruce is determined to continue as manager at Villa Park.
"I'm in charge of a great club with great tradition, history and support," he told reporters after the Fulham game.
"I'm gutted for everybody but I'll roll my sleeves up and get stuck into it again, because that's what I do. As long as the people above me want me to do it then I'll carry on. We didn't do enough in the first half. We were too deep and too respectful and didn't do enough with or without the ball to create any real pressure on Fulham. Whether it was the occasion or the heat, who knows? But we just didn't do enough.
"But there were big decisions that went against us too. [Ryan Fredericks] for me should have had a red card early on, it was right in front of the referee and the fourth official. No one wants to see a spectacle ruined but when it's deliberate as that he deserves one. It was part of their game-plan and it was a bit cynical but I don't want to make that the excuse. Jack, with the way he plays, is going to draw a foul. Second half we were much better and asked a few more questions, but to be brutally honest that wasn't hard. Then you just need a break and unfortunately, we didn't get it. We just needed that run [Jack Grealish] went on that got everyone out of the seats to go in, and if it had then I'm sure we would have gone on to win the match."
Bruce took charge of Aston Villa in October 2016, leading them to a fourth-place finish in the Championship last season.
Matthew Jones
