It seemed the natural and seemingly logical next step in Steven Gerrard’s managerial journey, not that he would ever express it publicly himself.

After a successful three-and-a-half years in a pressure-cooker environment at Scottish giants Rangers, it was assumed he’d spend a few seasons coaching Aston Villa to build enough Premier League experience to be the fitting replacement for Juergen Klopp at his beloved Liverpool.

But there’s been a bump in the road.

Gerrard’s first senior coaching job in English soccer quickly turned sour, leading to him being fired by Villa late on Thursday in a quite abrupt – even cruel – way.

A 41-word, two-sentence statement, with a pithy quote attributed to a “club spokesman” marked the end for Gerrard just a couple of hours after Villa’s 3-0 loss at Fulham.

Speaking to media during those two hours, he had vowed to fight on with Villa in 17th place.

It leaves Gerrard and his managerial reputation in a tough spot. After all, how do you judge someone who leads Rangers to their first Scottish league title in 10 years, then doesn’t last a year at Villa?

Villa never established an identity or clear playing style under Gerrard so, in that sense, it’s difficult for other clubs to know what they’ll be taking on if they plunge for him in the coming months.

His status as one of the great English players of his generation, dovetailed with his coaching success at Rangers, will ensure job offers come.

But can he get his managerial journey back on track quickly enough to put himself in position to be Klopp’s heir at Liverpool?

In April, Klopp extended his contract by a further two years, until 2026. So Gerrard still has time to press his case for the job at Liverpool, where he played 710 games from 1998-2015, many as captain.

Klopp said on Friday he had only had “a little exchange” with Gerrard but expected him to “be back, 100 per cent.”

“Now I hope actually he takes a bit of time as well for himself,” Klopp said. “Because since he finished his career, he is pretty much working all the time. So maybe use it now for himself to recharge.”

Gerard meanwhile has told of his regret at not being able to make a success of the Villa job.

“I would like to thank everyone connected to Aston Villa Football Club, for the support shown to me during my time there,” Gerrard wrote on Instagram.

“I would personally like to thank the board of directors, the players and all the staff for their hard work.

“To the fans, it is regrettable that it didn’t work out in the end, but I owe you a debt of gratitude for the way you welcomed me into your club, and continued to push the team on during difficult times.

“Aston Villa is a club with a special history, I really wanted to bring back those memorable achievements, unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”