Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson: Aston Villa fans should give Alex McLeish a chance

Alex Mcleish (Pete Mariner)

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Aston Villa fans should give Alex McLeish a chance, if and when he is appointed as boss.

The 52-year-old resigned from his job at Birmingham City less than a week ago, after the club relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.

But to the manager’s credit, he had guided them to glory in the League Cup prior to being flushed into the second tier.

Recent reports point towards McLeish being appointed as the manager of Villa, with the club having recently confirmed that he would be interviewed to fill the position left vacant due to Gerard Houllier’s exit.

From the perspective of the fans, the Scot would be coming in from a club with which they have a fierce rivalry. And some supporters even took to demonstrating their displeasure at the potential appointment.

But Sir Alex believes that the fans need to give McLeish a genuine chance to prove his worth at Villa Park, as he is quoted by The Independent as saying: “I’ve known Alex since he was 18. He was always intelligent, always inquisitive and always asking questions. These to me are essential ingredients for being a successful manager.”

He added: “As a player, he was always a leader on the pitch and always worked hard. In all his managerial positions, he has always had to work hard, too. His CV is good. He managed Rangers, he managed Scotland, he won trophies and he’s achieved what he has as a manager on limited resources. He’s done a phenomenal job.

“By the time Alex took over at Rangers they weren’t spending the kind of money which they previously had, so he did a great job. In all his jobs he’s had to deal with that kind of situation of making do with what you have and making the best of it, and that’s a quality. Villa represent the same type of challenge.”

The 69-year-old also maintained that the emotion of the fans personalising issues concerning the club they support has become considerably more intense over the years.

“If you look back 40 years ago, the emotions of supporters were far different,” said Sir Alex. “They’re very emotional nowadays and they’re more personal about their football club. You see many examples of that, particularly at Villa in the past few days.

“But as a club, you can’t be swayed from the decisions you have to make. You want to listen to the supporters but you want to listen to the sensible ones and say, ‘Look at the manager’s CV and look at what he’s achieved and, for just one minute, forget about the fact he was at Birmingham’.”

The former Aberdeen boss also believed that McLeish – whom he managed as a player – has what it takes to overcome the adversity and make a positive impact at Villa, should be handed the reins to the club.

He said: “At the end of the day what will count is this: can he McLeish do the job for Villa?

“It doesn’t matter whether there are five against him, 50 against him or 500 against him, because the experience and the ability he has got, believe me, he will prove he can do the job. And that’s what it’s all about.”