Villa fans vent fury at McLeish link

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Fans today vented their anger after speculation increased that Alex McLeish could take the vacant Villa manager's job after leaving bitter rivals Birmingham.

McLeish tendered his resignation at St Andrew's on Sunday and Blues' acting chairman Peter Pannu has since confirmed that Villa e-mailed the club over their intention to speak to the Scot.

The Express & Star has been inundated with furious messages from Villa supporters who are vehemently opposed to the appointment of McLeish and have threatened to boycott merchandise, refuse to renew season tickets and are planning protests at Villa Park.

Internet message boards and micro-blogging site Twitter have both gone into meltdown over the past 48 hours, while a Facebook protest page entitled 'Villa Supporters - We don't want Alex McLeish' has now gathered 10,000 supporters.

Jonathan Fear, editor of fans' website Vital Villa, warned the board that they can expect a severe backlash from the Villa faithful if they go ahead and appoint McLeish.

He said: "With so many saying that they will protest, boycott or simply not renew their season tickets, the depth of feeling is very clear.

"The board can't keep putting out all the fires started by rumours, but this one is a situation much bigger and needs dealing with.

"I'm not arrogant enough to tell them what to do but would hope they now realise the storm created and that many fans see this as the ultimate slap in the face on both sides of the city divide.

"I believe that this would be as stunning as a Celtic man going to Rangers or vice versa."

Villa owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner were thought to have got cold feet on Steve McClaren because of worries over the reaction of fans.

And Express & Star columnist and editor of Heroes & Villains fanzine Dave Woodhall believes Lerner is taking an even bigger risk by entertaining the idea of hiring McLeish.

Woodhall said: "Randy has built up a lot of good will with Villa fans since he arrived and it would be an absolutely massive gamble by appointing McLeish.

"It is a decision which really defies belief and he risks jeopardising everything he has done at Villa with this one move, so hopefully he will think long and hard before reaching an decision.

"It would be something which would fly in the face of all logic. I could understand our interest if he was at the top of his game but we're talking about a guy who just got a team relegated."