Alex McLeish bore the look of a man still a little unsure of precisely what he has let himself in for when he took his bow as Aston Villa’s new manager.

A week on from the biggest shake-up in Second City football  for nearly 30 years, the reality was something of an anti-climax.

There was nothing McLeish could really do or say to match the shock and awe at the enormity of his decision to quit St Andrew’s and take on the task of heading operations at Villa Park. But the impact upon him was clear.

Despite coping with the rigours of dealing with not one but two trying ownerships at Birmingham, McLeish was always a comfortable and confident figure as Blues manager, sure of his standing and status at a club where fans were happy enough to overlook the troughs of two relegations for the peaks of a best-ever Premier League finish and – wonder of wonders – a major trophy at Wembley.

But yesterday? Well, remember that first day in a scary new job? Where you’re not quite sure where everything is and how it works?

That was the 52-year-old Scot on his opening day in office at a club where he must quickly find the answers to those questions and establish a new identity for a Villa side which has wobbled alarmingly since Martin O’Neill’s walk-out nearly a year ago.

McLeish kept his answers short and to the point. He didn’t dodge anything, other than the sequence of events which led to his cross-city switch but which remain a legal minefield because of his former employers’ hostility, but he didn’t exactly expand on subjects either.

A perceptive, intelligent man and an articulate talker, this was unusual but maybe indicative of the sensitivity of his appointment.

There are those who reckon McLeish is unaware of the true extent of precisely what has been stirred by his quitting Blues for Villa.

But he was smart enough on his first public outing not to go into details about the vitriolic backdrop that has been hoisted behind the prickly co-existence between Villa and Birmingham.

Will McLeish go out and embrace those Villa fans unhappy at his appointment in an act of appeasement?

He said: “I don’t see why not.”

Does McLeish fear for his safety?

He said: “I understand people have passions and I would just ask they didn’t take it to extremes. That includes Birmingham fans, some of whom I’m sure would like to punch me.”

Can Villa keep Stewart Downing?

McLeish said: “There’s a couple of years left on his contract and it’s important we keep him, I’ll sit down with him and see what happens.”

What about style of football? Did McLeish understand the reservations supporters held over the attritional and stubborn characteristics of the team he left behind?

He said: “There are some good attacking players here and I want to play in a style that suits them.

“But I wouldn’t say Birmingham played bad football. The biggest thing was the lack of goals.”

It was to the point and satisfied the primary demands of the occasion.

But when it was over you sensed the real  emotions and thoughts of Alexander McLeish – or Big Eck – and his role in this stunning development within our footballing backyard remained locked away, to be revealed perhaps, when emotions are not so raw.

There are still huge questions about what lies ahead which McLeish naturally couldn’t answer and the biggest must be precisely what owner Randy Lerner, the once-unimpeachable owner now recoiling from his first public kicking by Villa fans, demands of him.

This is, after all, an age when Villa are struggling for an identity, a struggle to satisfy how the club perceives itself with the reality of its position.

Constrained by the limitations of the previous ownership, Villa allowed the initial three powers of the Premier League era – Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool – to slip out of reach.

Then came Chelsea. And now Manchester City and Spurs have muddied the waters still further.

Villa’s declining ability to match these super powers was a substantial part of O’Neill’s decision to quit, only for Lerner to change course dramatically during January with a £30million-plus splurge on Darren Bent and Jean Makoun.

Which Villa will McLeish be expected to shape at a time when the last threads of O’Neill’s patchwork are unravelling?

After all, Gareth Barry and James Milner have gone, Ashley Young will follow, John Carew and Emile Heskey are fading memories, Stiliyan Petrov is struggling to maintain his place, Richard Dunne and James Collins have degenerated into disillusioned malcontents.

If McLeish would appear to have both the character and style to get those two redoubtable central defenders back onside, it’s still clear Downing has become something of a test case for his own credibility at Villa.

If he can bring the midfielder back from the brink of departure to Liverpool, it will be a significant endorsement of his appointment.

That is for later. By then, Villa’s new boss will hope to have found his way around the place and allowed passions to settle.

Then we may see the real McLeish emerge from the uncertain start of yesterday.

By Martin Swain