PETROV BELIEVES HE CAN COACH ASTON VILLA

The former Aston Villa midfielder, Stiliyan Petrov is sure that one day he will manage his former club Aston Villa, but insists he is not ready to succeed Roberto Di Matteo who was recently sacked.


The winner of UCL at Chelsea, Di Matteo was sacked by Villa this week, with the club sitting 19th in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

The 37-year old was forced to retire from playing football in 2013 after being diagnosed with acute leukemia while he remains the fans’ favorite at Villa Park.

After failing to return to action with Villa following his illness, Petrov believes he can divert into coaching, nevertheless, he will not be putting himself in the frame for the Villa job this time around.

“I have always been honest with myself and I know that I am not ready for that job,” he told talkSPORT. “I know one day I will become Villa manager, but it is way too early for me. They need a good manager, an experienced manager, who can bring stability to the club. It is about results. If you don’t get results, you obviously don’t stay in your job.”

“Fans expect the club to get promotion back to the Premier League but instead of getting closer they went further and further so I’m not really surprised that the chairman made the decision and made it very quickly. They have done quite good business [in the off-season], they have a very, very good team, but it just seems that the manager couldn’t get them to play, to build them, to make the balance, to make them play together.”

The exit of Di Matteo was a quick decision made by the Club’s chairman who needs someone who can turn things around quickly as he can’t wait to see the club back in winning form and also to move to top flight English football.