Petrov: I will be Villa manager one day

Stiliyan Petrov is confident of one day managing former club Aston Villa, but insists he is not ready to succeed Roberto Di Matteo.

Di Matteo was sacked by Villa this week, with the club languishing 19th in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

Petrov – forced to retire from playing in 2013 after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia – remains a fan favourite at Villa Park.

After an unsuccessful attempt to return to action with Villa following his illness, Petrov is pondering a move into coaching.

However, 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 [away] 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 chairman made a very quick decision because he knows he needs somebody who can change it quickly because he wants this club back in the Premier League. To do that, he needed to make a dramatic decision, and he made it.

“We wait and see who will be the next one and I hope he can do a better job.”