Alex McLeish's post at Birmingham City uncertain and Alan Curbishley in contention for Villa job
Birmingham City manager, Alex McLeish’s future at the club has come under a cloud of uncertainty after talks between McLeish and the club were not fruitful for a contract extension.
Talks have been underway between the former Scotland manager and the club for some time now, but still no agreement has been reached between the two parties. Birmingham had been keen on rewarding the manager with a contract extension following a 9th place finish by the club last season. Birmingham made their way back into the Premier league in the season before that and the club management were believed to be quite happy with the progress.
McLeish is believed to be upset by some comments made by board members at the club, Pannu allegedly jibed at Alex saying he is no Jose Mourinho.
Pannu said that the club had been in talks with the manager, but he had been asking for a huge sum of money which is simply unacceptable. Pannu did admit that McLeish deserved a bonus following the team’s performance last season, but he said that the Scot has still some way to go before he can be in a position to dictate terms to that level.
Pannu said that McLeish has not been tested to that degree yet, the club was relegated couple of seasons ago and they made it back. Now that they have managed to stay up and finish 9th does mean that he has done well so he did deserve a bonus. He went on to say that he should be given credit for what he is worth, but one thing is for sure that he is no Mourinho. So the decision lies with him as the club has tabled their offer, it is up to him to make the final decision.
When reporters asked McLeish about the situation, he said that he would not like to talk about any developments. He added that the club has signed 2 players and that is all the news he has for them.
Meanwhile Alan Curbishley, the former Aston Villa player, has now joined the race to be the next man to lead the club. Ever since Martin O’Neill parted ways with the club, there has been a long list of possible candidates who can replace the Scot at Villa Park.
Cursbishley has not been managing any team since he left West Ham United back in 2008. It is believed that the Aston Villa board met him and had some sort of interview. Details of the talks are still unknown but there is a strong possibility that he may be the man they are looking for.
Curbishley has now joined on the list of possible candidates alongside Kevin Macdonald and Bob Bradley. MacDonald has been the caretaker manager at Villa Park since O’Neill left and submitted an application for the job on Tuesday. Bob Bradley meanwhile is the coach of USA national team and was in the list of probables due to the American connection with the club’s owner, Randy Lerner. Bradley however has since signed a contract extension with USA and now it is pretty much left to Curbishley and MacDonald.
Alan Cursbishley made his name as a manager when he was in charge of Charlton Athletic. He guided them to Premier League and established them as one of the formidable teams in the league for few years.
The credentials of Curbishley pretty much fit the criteria of Aston Villa manager, however Macdonald has also not been ruled out yet by the club.
Curbishley left Charlton Athletic back in 2007, at the time he had said that he was looking for a new challenge and wanted to take charge of a team that he can once again guide to new heights.
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