{"id":444385,"date":"2011-06-20T14:56:19","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T14:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/20\/i-am-the-man-for-villa-mcleish\/"},"modified":"2011-06-20T14:56:19","modified_gmt":"2011-06-20T14:56:19","slug":"i-am-the-man-for-villa-mcleish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/20\/i-am-the-man-for-villa-mcleish\/","title":{"rendered":"I am the man for Villa – McLeish"},"content":{"rendered":"
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McLeish unfazed by Villa reception<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

New Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish is adamant he is the right man to take the club forward.<\/p>\n

News of the 52-year-old former Birmingham City manager’s appointment<\/a> led angry Villa fans to protest outside Villa Park.<\/p>\n

But McLeish said: “Let me prove myself and I will win the fans over. I’m the man for this job.<\/p>\n

“Am I fazed by it? No. Have I had it before? Yes. I’ve got thick skin and I’m ready for the challenge.”<\/p>\n

The Scot, who has managed Motherwell, Hibernian, Rangers, the Scottish national side and Birmingham, insisted it was a tough decision to leave City for their bitter rivals and thanked the Blues for their support.<\/p>\n

”To think I have been able to manage both of them Villa and Birmingham is a wonderful honour,” he said.<\/p>\n

”I would not say it was a difficult decision in my career but it was a tough one, it is not every day you get offered a job like this. There is no way I could not have been the manager of Villa.<\/p>\n

”I thank them Birmingham very much for their support over the four years I have been there. Not everybody was sure of me at Birmingham and, OK, I left on relegation but we just fought one of the hardest Premier League campaigns ever.”<\/p>\n

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Villa fans protest against McLeish<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

McLeish also added that he would have no problem looking to St Andrews in an attempt to add to the Villa squad.<\/p>\n

“I know there are many good players there but the policy that I have always maintained is not to talk about other clubs’ players,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I am getting bombarded – we are just going to assess things at the moment. If I thought a Birmingham player could improve Aston Villa, why not?”<\/p>\n

Villa had been without a permanent boss since April when Gerard Houllier suffered ill health<\/a> and subsequently left the club.<\/p>\n

New Nottingham Forest manager Steve McClaren<\/a> and former Fulham boss Mark Hughes had been linked with the role, while Wigan manager Roberto Martinez turned down the opportunity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McLeish, who won the Carling Cup with Birmingham last term<\/a> before leading them to relegation, admitted that he was surprised when Villa owner Randy Lerner approached him for the job.<\/p>\n

“I was surprised. That’s why I am so flattered to be chosen by the chairman Randy Lerner. He has seen something in my CV that has attracted me to this club.<\/p>\n

“I take a lot of heart from that despite the furore of the past couple of days.<\/p>\n

“I know that relegation does not look good, but there were good times at Birmingham City and in my past as a manager.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Excerpt from:
\nI am the man for Villa – McLeish<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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