Poll: Who's next for the Villa hotseat?
After two questionable managerial appointments since he bought Villa it is abundantly clear that Randy Lerner can ill afford to make it a hat-trick of mistakes.
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After two questionable managerial appointments since he bought Villa it is abundantly clear that Randy Lerner can ill afford to make it a hat-trick of mistakes.
If you take into account the compensation packages dished out to Gerard Houllier and Alex McLeish – not to mention a costly court battle with Martin O'Neill – Lerner should be acutely aware that the hiring and firing of football managers is an expensive business.
The American acted quickly to get rid of McLeish and the club's top brass have privately realised the need to show similar decisiveness to secure the Scot's successor.
Villa are desperately in need of someone who will revitalise a fanbase who have become disillusioned with the club after the struggles of the past couple of seasons.
"We need to be clear and candid with ourselves and with supporters about what we have lacked in recent years. Compelling play and results that instil a sense of confidence that Villa is on the right track have been plainly absent," said Lerner.
"The most immediate action that we can take is to look carefully at our options in terms of bringing in a new manager who sees the club's potential and embraces our collective expectations."
It is searching for the hidden meaning behind the final few words of Lerner's statement which underpins the remit to find the new man.
And the message coming from within the club is the desire to go for a "young and hungry" manager who is able to manage the financial expectations and continue the advancement of Villa's talented youngsters.
It is inevitable that Wigan's Roberto Martinez will once again be on Villa's radar. He seems to be an ideal fit and perhaps more likely to be persuaded to join the claret and blues than Swansea's Brendan Rodgers, who team have been lauded for their playing style and who only recently signed a long-term deal at the Liberty Stadium.
Norwich boss Paul Lambert was decidedly coy about his future at Carrow Road and it seems inevitable Villa will enquire about his availability despite the comparisons with O'Neill.
Brighton's Gus Poyet and perhaps even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in charge of Molde back in his native Norway, are outsiders cut from a similar cloth but more experienced names such as Claudio Ranieri, Rafael Benitez and Alan Curbishley can all be discounted at this stage.
