Aston Villa’s failure to win promotion to the Premier League this season is undoubtedly a major disappointment for the club’s fans and they face a crucial summer as they plan for another year in the second tier.
Villa’s 1-0 defeat against Fulham at Wembley on Saturday consigned them to a third season in the Championship – something that owner Tony Xia probably hadn’t planned for when he took over in 2016.
Sportslens takes a look at five key talking points from Villa’s disappointing end to the campaign.
Xia must keep faith with Bruce
Xia was quick to dispense with Roberto Di Matteo’s services as manager, but he must resist the temptation to do the same with Bruce.