Robert de Pauw took over at Aston Villa in June.Photograph: Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images
Aston Villa are considering the future of their women’s first-team manager, Robert de Pauw, the Guardian understands.
Following Sunday’s 4-0 defeat away at Arsenal in the Women’s Super League, the Midlands club are currently ninth in the table and one point above the relegation zone. De Pauw has overseen one victory in his first nine league fixtures in English football.
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According to multiple sources, senior staff at the club discussed De Pauw’s position on Tuesday and it is not yet certain whether or not he will remain in charge for Wednesday’s League Cup Group E fixture at home to the Championship side Charlton Athletic. Villa are second in the group behind Tottenham and still hold a strong chance of reaching the quarter-finals ahead of Wednesday’s concluding group-stage fixtures.
It is also understood that De Pauw did not take the club’s usual training session on Tuesday. Aston Villa have been contacted by the Guardian for comment.
The 43-year-old has been in charge of Villa since June, when he signed a three-year deal with the option of a further year. He was previously in charge of the German women’s team Bayer Leverkusen, finishing sixth in the Frauen Bundesliga last season after a fifth-placed finish in the previous campaign.
Prior to that two-season spell in Germany he worked in his homeland in the Netherlands as the manager of FC Twente, lifting a domestic double in 2022, following a spell coaching within the Dutch national setup’s youth system.
De Pauw succeeded the former Aston Villa manager Carla Ward, who was at the helm for three years and oversaw ninth, fifth and seventh-placed finishes in those three campaigns.