• Club aiming to appoint a young and ambitious manager
• Shortlist includes Roberto Martínez and Brendan Rodgers
Randy Lerner, the Aston Villa owner, will fly in from America on Wednesday to accelerate the club's pursuit of a replacement for Alex McLeish. Lerner will meet Paul Faulkner, the club's chief executive, to discuss a shortlist on which Roberto Martínez, Paul Lambert and Brendan Rodgers feature prominently. Villa aim to move swiftly and are determined to secure a young and ambitious manager whose appointment will give the club an immediate lift.
Despite a dreadful season that ended with Villa narrowly avoiding relegation, Lerner and Faulkner are confident that the club remains an attractive proposition. They believe the current squad of players have underachieved and is better than their final position of 16th suggests and also hope that the club's strong fan base, a state‑of‑the‑art training ground and highly respected academy setup will appeal to the profile of manager they are chasing.
"I think we want to find someone who can reinvigorate the club, someone who can bring some vibrancy back to Villa. That's what we need and that's what we can get," Faulkner said. "You want someone who can inspire the players, inspire the fans and can deliver on the pitch. "We're looking to go into next season and be in those positions where we will be in there challenging. We should be in that top half of the table and fighting for the European places. Why not?"
The fact that Martínez, Lambert and Rodgers have all signed new and long-term contracts in the past 12 months at Wigan Athletic, Norwich City and Swansea City respectively means Villa will have to pay hefty compensation to land any of the trio, although that prospect is unlikely to discourage Lerner. Mick McCarthy, who is out of work after his sacking by Wolverhampton Wanderers in February, would be a cheaper option but nothing should be read into the rumours that circulated after his odds tumbled in the betting markets.
It remains to be seen whether Martínez, who turned Villa down before McLeish's appointment last summer, would be more receptive to a second approach a year later, although Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, has intimated that he will have a say in the Spaniard's choice of club when it comes to his departure. "If anybody approaches [Roberto], he will tell me because, if he feels the club is right and I feel the club is right, I will back him to the hilt," said Whelan. Read More
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