Aston Villa have denied claims that Steven Gerrard has been sacked as manager in the wake of Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against Chelsea.

Gerrard is under serious pressure at Villa Park following a miserable start to the season which has seen his side collect just nine points from their opening 10 games.

Villa’s poor run of form continued on Sunday, when Chelsea delivered their fifth defeat of the campaign to leave them languishing in 16th place, and reports from Football Insider on Monday suggested the club had already parted company with their under-fire manager.

Steven Gerrard is under serious pressure at Aston Villa after a poor start to the campaign

Reports claim Mauricio Pochettino has been identified as a potential replacement for Gerrard

The story followed an earlier report from The Telegraph, who revealed that former PSG and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been earmarked as a potential replacement for Gerrard, with the writing on the wall for the Liverpool legend.

However, Villa Communications Director Tommy Jordan took to Twitter on Monday night to rubbish claims that Gerrard has already been dismissed by the club, branding the reports ‘complete lies’.

Jordan posted: ‘How many times can you publish complete lies before people unfollow the account? Not sure why anyone actually follows this account. If you do, you shouldn’t.’

Villa are in next in action on Thursday night, when they go away to Marco Silva’s Fulham, before Brentford make the trip to the West Midlands on Sunday.

But Villa Communications Director Tommy Jordan (L) has denied that Gerrard has been sacked

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Jordan took to Twitter on Monday night to brand a report claiming the club has parted company with Gerrard ‘complete lies’

Those two fixtures could prove pivotal in Gerrard’s future at the club, with The Telegraph’s report claiming he could be sacked even if they win one of them.

Beating Fulham and failing to overcome Brentford could still force Villa’s board into a decision, and Pochettino is said to be their No 1 target should that scenario play out.

The Argentine has been out of work since being sacked as PSG boss in the summer, despite guiding them to Ligue 1 glory last season.

After failing to take the French club past the Champions League quarter-finals, Pochettino was axed and replaced by Christophe Galtier, who has avoided defeat in his first 16 games as manager.

Gerrard insists he was encouraged by Villa’s performance in Sunday’s defeat against Chelsea

Nevertheless, Pochettino remains one of the most sought-after coaches in European football despite his disappointing spell at the Parc des Princes, making him an ideal recruit for Villa should Gerrard depart.

Though while he admits he is concerned by their current position, Gerrard insisted he was also encouraged by their overall display against Chelsea at the weekend.

‘I think I’d be stupid not to be concerned and aware of where we’re at. I’ll accept that. Every time I’ve spoken to you guys I’ve fronted up. I won’t hide from the responsibility, criticism or the noise coming from the stands today,’ he said.

‘But what I will say is that if these players can replicate that first hour today moving forward I don’t think this team will have an issue and they certainly won’t be in the area they’re in now in the league because if we can do that to Chelsea and that level of opponent and reward ourselves with that level of chances, I don’t think we’ll have any issues.’