Steven Gerrard had only just finished telling interviewers he would fight on at Aston Villa when the announcement came.

“Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that head coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement on Thursday. “We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”

It felt particularly cruel that Gerrard would be thrust in front of the cameras to defend his position if, as appears, his fate had already been sealed by a 3-0 loss to Fulham minutes earlier.

Villa fans had called for him to be fired after a result that left his team just above the relegation zone.

“It’s tough,” he told Amazon Prime. “I’m a man, I accept it, I feel their frustrations, I’m frustrated. It was a tough night for me personally.

“We will see what happens. I’m a fighter, I will never, ever quit anything whether it’s football or in life.”

Gerrard’s team looked devoid of confidence against Fulham and defeat left them level on points with Wolverhampton in 18th.

Harrison Reed and Aleksandar Mitrovic put the home team in control on a night when Douglas Luiz was sent off and Tyrone Mings also put one into his own net.

While Gerrard’s reign has come to a sorry end, his former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is providing a glimmer of hope to Leicester fans. A 2-0 win against Leeds moved Rodgers’ team off the foot of the league and to within a point of Villa.