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McLeish quits Blues
Villa set to lure former Birmingham boss

By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @skygraemebailey.   Last Updated: June 12, 2011 4:29pm


McLeish: Manager has left Birmingham and is in line for Villa role
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Alex McLeish has emerged as favourite to take charge of Aston Villa after quitting Birmingham City, skysports.com understands.

McLeish has decided to leave the Championship club after they were relegated on the final day of the Premier League season.

The news brings to an end a four-year reign for McLeish after he took charge at St Andrews in 2007 after quitting Scotland.

He guided the Blues to a Carling Cup win over Arsenal, which got them into the Europa League next season, but they could not beat the drop after losing at Spurs on the final day of the season to slip into the bottom three.

McLeish is now ready to cross the city to take charge of their arch-rivals Aston Villa.

Villa have been looking for a replacement for Gerard Houllier, who left the club earlier this month.

And they are now believed to have turned to a man under their noses after Mark Hughes, Steve McClaren, Rafa Benitez and Roberto Martinez were all ruled out.