Aston Villa face tough task to appoint right man

With Gerard Houllier's exit looming, Villa reporter Timothy Abraham looks at possible replacements.

Selecting Villa's new manger should be pretty straightforward, right? Wrong.

Do you go foreign or British? Select a tactician or man motivator? Opt for a strict disciplinarian or someone who is a bit more relaxed?

Should they be young or old? Do they need a proven track record of winning trophies or should it be someone inexperienced but hungry?

Do you want a hands-on boss who works with his players on the training ground, or someone who relies on his coaching staff? Should it be someone committed to playing attractive football or are results all that matter?

These questions, and more, are just some of the those that Villa owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner will be trying to get their heads around as they begin the search for Gerard Houllier's successor.

One thing is for certain – and that is Villa's next managerial appointment will be one of the most important in their recent history.

Get it right and fans can dream about breaking into the top into the Champions League places, get it wrong and they could find themselves in for another few seasons in the doldrums.

The Frenchman's replacement will have a number of issues on the playing side to deal with immediately upon his appointment, not least the futures of several key players.

Ashley Young looks to be on his way while Stewart Downing's future becomes decidedly more uncertain with each passing day.

A big-name manager like Carlo Ancelotti could bring the star quality to the managerial hot-seat which might convince them to stick around for another season as well as placating the likes of Darren Bent.

With the prospect of a few departures, the likelihood is that there is also a lot of rebuilding to be done at Villa and whoever is entrusted with the job must be a canny operator in the transfer market and have an eye for a bargain, like David Moyes has done at Everton.

Maximising the potential of Villa's existing squad is also something which is important and, if you look at what master tactician Rafael Benitez achieved with Valencia and Liverpool, you can understand why his name is the frame.

Both Benitez and Ancelotti have the most impressive CVs when it comes to putting trophies on the table. But, after the behind-the-scenes problems Houllier had with senior players, it begs the questions as to whether they would be suitable for Villa.

Neither man suffers fools gladly and if some Villa players found Houllier cold at times they will be facing an icy blast with either the Spaniard or the Italian.

Houllier made a strong commitment to play a more exciting brand of football and that will probably be in the remit of the new manager so Owen Coyle – who is young and hungry – becomes an interesting prospect based on what he has achieved at Bolton.

The need for the new man to be available quickly, though, puts a dampener on someone like Coyle as well as Moyes with both likely to require drawn-out settlements with their existing clubs.

Whoever it is will also have to be in Villa's price range, which puts the likes Steve McClaren into consideration as well as perhaps Martin Jol, who is also out of work.

The pair – like Mark Hughes – are excellent training ground men and build a strong rapport with players to get the best out of them as good man motivators.

Naturally, the best candidate will be the one who can score highly in the many facets of the role of a football manager tailored to Villa's specific needs.

But, of course, as Houllier found when he was appointed, they still have to impress at interview.