Aston Villa relegated for first time since 1987

Back in 1987, Aston Villa completed a spectacular fall from grace, suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday to confirm its relegation to English football's Second Division, only five years after winning the European Cup.

Those dark days have returned to Villa Park.

On Saturday, Villa fell 1-0 at Manchester United, a result that put the final nail in the Villans' coffin, establishing the club as the Premier League season's first casualty and guaranteeing its participation in the Championship come August.

Sitting rock bottom in the Premier League since November, Villa possesses a laughable 16 points from 34 fixtures and is on its third manager of the season after the departures of Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde in October and March, respectively. The Villans have failed to tally a single point since Eric Black was appointed as the club's caretaker manager, and the defeat at United marked a ninth successive loss.

The implications of relegation are already being felt at Villa Park. Its staff was warned Monday that there will be job cuts due to the club's failure to remain in the Premier League, and two days earlier, the Villans cancelled their annual Player of the Year awards due to "the current circumstances."

Related: Aston Villa scraps year-end player award ceremony amid brutal season

Nigel Pearson is reportedly the favourite to become Villa's next manager.