(Reuters) - Aston Villa have terminated the contract of manager Steve Bruce following a dismal start to the season, the Championship club said on Wednesday.
Villa have three wins in 11 games and are 12th in the table. They were held to a 3-3 draw at home by Preston on Tuesday night.
One fan hurled a cabbage at the manager before the game, in anger at the team's recent performance.
"We would like to place on record our gratitude to Steve and his team for their hard work and commitment. We wish them well for the future," Villa said in a statement https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2018/10/03/club-statement-steve-bruce.
"The process of recruiting a new manager has begun. In the meantime, Kevin MacDonald, Aston Villa under-23 manager, will be in charge of the team for our trip to Millwall on Saturday."
Bruce's assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh have also left their posts with immediate effect.
Former English and European champions Villa were relegated from the Premier League in 2016.
They lost 1-0 to Fulham in the Championship playoff final last season to miss out on promotion to the top flight.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)