Interesting comments come Ian Taylor in the E&S:
Ian Taylor believes caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald will do everything asked of him and more during his time in the hot-seat.Chaotic, turbulent, tumultuous – Villa’s week has been all of those rolled into one and more.
But let me tell you now they could not be in safer hands than Kevin MacDonald’s going into Saturday’s West Ham opener.
I’m still confident we’ll end this extraordinary week which began with manager Martin O’Neill’s shock resignation on a high by beating the Hammers at Villa Park.
And it’s because of what I know about Kev that I’m so confident.
He was at the club as a coach throughout my time at Villa as a player and, rest assured, he is one of the best in the game.
Kev is a man who does not care about egos – he will treat all of the players the same right from a rookie 18-year-old to a seasoned campaigner.
He has a great football brain and if changes need making during a game, he will make them.
The job of reserve-team boss is as tough as any at the club because you have to get the best out of players who don’t necessarily want to be playing, so that deserves respect too.
I was encouraged to see he plans to wipe the slate clean and I hope that means Luke Young, Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell are get a chance because they’re all very good players. Their departures would have been a loss to Villa.
I’d expect Young to slot in at right-back, while Sidwell and Reo-Coker are probably battling it out for James Milner’s place in the middle.
With it being a home game, you’d probably give Sidwell the edge because he’s more of an attack-minded player – by all accounts he’s had an impressive pre-season too. Kev will be using that old motivational tool of telling all of the players – not just the up-for-sale five – that they are playing for their futures for when the new man comes in. That always gives players a kick up the backside.
As for the pressure of stepping into O’Neill’s shoes for a game or two, that won’t phase him one bit.
No one will be trying harder to get three points for Villa than Kev, he is ultra professional in his approach, leaving nothing to chance.
And, speaking of chances, this is his opportunity to stake his claim for the job.
I’d still expect Villa to go for a bigger name but were he to win a few games in the interim you just never know. We’ve seen it happen at other clubs.
As for O’Neill, the criticism he has received these last few days is entirely justified. It was interesting to hear General Charles Krulak, the club’s non-executive director, come out saying O’Neill thought he was bigger than the club. By the sounds of it, O’Neill had a big ego – there’s no doubting walking out on your club of four years just five days before the start of the new season was a selfish act.
If you had genuine love for the club you wouldn’t do it. The timing was simply awful.
www.expressandstar.com/sport/2010/08/12/villa-could-not-be-in-safer-hands/#ixzz0wQyyB7Ge
