Ross McCormack was probably hoping Steve Bruce was getting the shove

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A week ago it appeared Aston Villa were all set to make a major change. It was being reported that the Midlands side were all set to replace manager Steve Bruce with Thierry Henry. It seemed almost too sensational to be true and, in the end, it never happened.

Aston Villa’s new owners ended up standing by Bruce, who will now lead the side into the new season hoping to forge another promotion push.

On the most part, the news was well received at the club. The idea Aston Villa were going to replace a serial promotion winner like Bruce with Henry, for his first managerial role, was something of a shock too many.

One Aston Villa player, however, was probably hoping to see the back of Bruce. Ross McCormack was signed in 2016 from Fulham for a fee reported to be in the region of £12 million.

The Scottish striker arrived with a reputation for scoring goals for fun at the Championship level. However, that did not prove to be the case. Instead, McCormack became an expensive mistake. When Roberto Di Matteo was sacked and replaced by Bruce the Scot was late for training and was cast aside.

“In my opinion he is not fit enough to play and he will not play unless his attitude towards training and missing training improves. If it does I’ll reconsider but if he continues to miss training, as he has done, that will be the situation.”

– Steve Bruce on banishing McCormack in January 2017

McCormack has played just twice for Villa since January 2017 and his massive wages are proving a stumbling block to finding a new team.

With Bruce still at the helm, another season rotting on the Aston Villa bench seems likely for the 31-year-old. Henry’s appointment might have changed everything, but the Scot must now hope someone decides to end his Aston Villa nightmare.