McLeish became the manager of Birmingham in November 2007
Aston Villa could make an announcement on Thursday regarding the vacant manager’s post after holding talks with Alex McLeish, the BBC has learnt.
“It won’t take long before Villa owner Randy Lerner and McLeish accept they are a good fit,” said BBC Radio 5 live’s Pat Murphy.
McLeish resigned as manager of local rivals Birmingham City on Sunday.
About 500 fans gathered outside Villa Park on Wednesday to protest against the possible appointment of the Scot.
“They gathered at North Stand just before 1700 BST then they moved onto Holte End,” said BBC 5 live reporter Phil Mackie. “At 1900 BST they moved back to North Stand, broke through gates and sat on steps. It was fairly good-natured.”
McLeish left his holiday in Corsica and returned to England to hold talks with Lerner on Wednesday, with a source at Villa telling the Press Association that they had been positive and productive.
On Tuesday, Villa released a statement which said: “The club understands that Alex McLeish is a free agent. We therefore intend to interview him imminently.”
Responding to Villa’s announcement, Birmingham released their own statement, accusing their neighbours of “tapping up” McLeish.
The 52-year-old Scot resigned less than one month after narrowly missing out on securing the club’s Premier League status.
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- Joined Aberdeen in 1976
- Spent 15 years with the Dons, playing under Sir Alex Ferguson
- Won 77 caps for Scotland
- Managed Motherwell, Hibs and Rangers in Scotland
- Guided Gers to domestic treble in 2003
- Became Scotland manager in January 2007, beating France 1-0 in Paris later that year
- Joined Birmingham in November 2007, saw them relegated in 2008 but brought them back at the first attempt
- Guided Birmingham to Carling Cup triumph in February 2011, but Blues were relegated on final day of the season
Blues are unhappy with Villa’s decision to meet their former boss, describing their rival’s announcement to proceed with an interview was “a contempt of Premier League and FA rules”.
“The club feel this will taint football and give the game and the footballing authorities a bad name if this is allowed to materialise,” added the Birmingham statement.
“We will lodge a formal complaint as there is now not the slightest doubt remaining about this tap-up attempt.
“This conduct, if condoned, will open up floodgates and set a very bad precedent. It is also an attack against the intelligence and integrity of not only the Villa fans, but most importantly our fans who are badly let down after relegation.”
However, Villa, who have been without a permanent boss since the end of April when Gerard Houllier suffered ill health, believe they have taken fans’ feelings into account.
“In deciding to interview McLeish, the board has taken his tenure at our local rivals and the strong emotions associated with this very seriously,” the Villa statement added.
On 10 June, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez turned down the chance to manage Villa, having been given permission to talk to the Midlands outfit by his club.
Steve McClaren, now in charge at Nottingham Forest, and former Fulham boss Mark Hughes are two others who have been linked with the position.
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Villa close to McLeish decision