Monday 26 October 2015 07:48, UK
Graeme Souness says Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa exit comes as no surprise after a miserable run of results.
Villa announced on Sunday that they had dismissed Sherwood after just eight months, a sixth successive defeat - at the hands of Swansea - seemingly the final straw.
Souness - reacting on Super Sunday to the news - believes the real threat of relegation for a side rock bottom and four points from safety forced the owners' hand.
"I'm not surprised," the Sky Sports football pundit said.
"The papers have been talking about it, Tim himself has had questions about it. He spent £50m in the summer and we've not seen any return.
"Aston Villa are one of those clubs that feel they should be up nearer the top than the bottom. They are a big club and could be a very big club. They've been champions of Europe. So I am not surprised. I just think it's the way the game rolls.
"You've got to get results. They're a club that will now be thinking, 'We could get relegated this season' so they've made the change now."
Fellow Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville said the decision to sack Sherwood almost felt like an "inevitability" and the club desperately needs an overhaul.
"These clubs like Sunderland, Newcastle and Villa are in turmoil every season so we shouldn't be surprised and nor should Tim Sherwood," Neville said.
"It's almost an inevitability. I don't know where Aston Villa go from here. They'll appoint another manager who might keep them up or might not but the club needs an overhaul.
"It's such a big club, my feeling of Aston Villa is not what I see in its current plight."
