Wednesday, 15th June, 2011
Aston Villa are preparing to interview former Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish, despite the messy situation which could follow his appointment as manager.
The Midlands side have already seen a number of managers turn down the opportunity to succeed Gerard Houllier, including Rafael Benitez and Roberto Martinez, but it is their pursuit of McLeish that has raised eyebrows.
The Scotsman, who won the Carling Cup with Birmingham this season as well as taking the club down to the Championship, resigned as Blues’ boss on Sunday amid much speculation that he had become Villa’s primary target.
And despite Birmingham becoming infuriated with the situation, Villa informed their rivals that they are preparing to interview McLeish.
"The club understands that Alex McLeish is a free agent", read a statement released by Villa. "We therefore intend to interview him imminently."
With Birmingham demanding substantial compensation for McLeish, despite the Scot having resigned, and threatening to report Villa to the Premier League for, in their opinion, "a contempt of Premier League and FA rules", the situation looks set to become more intense if the former Rangers manager is appointed at Villa Park.
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