Is that the way to
Villa Park? McLeish is set to be appointed as Aston Villa's new
manager after holding talks with Lerner
Alex McLeish was
thrashing out the final details of his move to Aston Villa as the
club's angry fans protested against his appointment on Wednesday
night.
McLeish cut short a holiday in
Sardinia to meet chairman Randy Lerner in London on Tuesday in the
hope of coming to an agreement today.
Some Villa supporters continue
to find the idea of appointing McLeish unpalatable because of his
previous allegiance to Birmingham City.
Making their point: A number of Villa fans have
taken action on Facebook to oppose the appointment of
McLeish
The Scot resigned from
Villa's rivals on Sunday with two years left on his contract and
either he or Villa are still likely to be pursued for compensation,
which has been put at £5.4million by his former
club.
McLeish is counter-claiming
constructive dismissal with the backing of the League Managers
Association.
Significantly, however, City
have distanced themselves from a threat to report Villa to the
Premier League for tapping up.
Acting chairman Peter Pannu
has been told by legal advisers that firm evidence has to accompany
such an accusation.
It is another hurdle that has
been cleared as far as Lerner is concerned, leaving supporter
unrest as the only serious barrier to confirming McLeish as Gerard
Houllier's successor.
Graffiti was daubed at Villa's
training ground overnight on Tuesday and several hundred fans
vented their feelings at Villa Park last night.
However, their protests will
fall on deaf ears. Having bowed to the groundswell of opinion over
Steve McClaren last week, Lerner is determined to appoint
McLeish.
