Paul right now... Aston Villa want Lambert to replace McLeish as Martinez stays with Wigan By Neil Moxley
PUBLISHED: 21:25, 30 May 2012 | UPDATED: 21:33, 30 May 2012
Paul Lambert looks set to become Aston Villa's new manager after their first choice, Roberto Martinez, opted to stay at Wigan Athletic.
Villa's hierarchy will approach Norwich City for permission to speak to the Scot.
Lambert has been on the shortlist of the Midlands club since the day Alex McLeish was sacked. He was joined by Martinez and a third candidate, believed to be Brendan Rodgers, but Villa are happy with a choice that has been made with the fans' blessing.
It is not yet a done deal and Villa will fall back on other candidates - understood to be Brighton's Gus Poyet or former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez - if they cannot reach agreement with 1997 Champions League winner Lambert.
But the path to appoint the Norwich boss was undoubtedly made easier after Villa made it clear, as outlined in Sportsmail yesterday, that Martinez had lost ground in the race when he was interviewed by Liverpool owner John W Henry last week.
Martinez contacted Villa three days ago to say that his interest in the position was concrete but he was informed by chief executive Paul Faulkner that Randy Lerner was not prepared to wait to get his man and had progressed with alternative plans. Villa have used an intermediary to smooth a path to the Norfolk club and compensation for the 42-year-old should be agreed swiftly.
Lerner was anxious to re-connect with supporters following the ill-advised decision to appoint McLeish and Lambert appeared the most popular choice on fans' websites. It means Martinez has missed out on the chance to manage Villa for the second season in succession following his very public snub 12 months ago.
Not that the Wigan boss should worry. He still has two years left to run on his contract with the Lancashire club and Wigan owner Dave Whelan may even look to improve it.
He said: 'Roberto is staying at Wigan and, of course, I am absolutely delighted.
'He was never offered the job at Liverpool because he was not happy with the way that it was presented to him. He has had some talks with Villa but he's not going to go there either. Villa are a fantastic club with great supporters but I never thought they were big enough for him.
'I've said all along that I never thought he would end up there and, fortunately for us, that's how it has turned out.
'If Roberto is to go anywhere, it will be to one of the top clubs in Europe. We're just so pleased he's staying with us.'
Whelan added: 'During the course of our meeting, we discussed a lot of things and it was very productive. I've agreed to his request to up our spending on youth development and training facilities. That's going to be pretty costly as I've agreed to a full-sized indoor pitch - that will cost £1.5million. 'I have also agreed to bring in three or four new players.
'We want Roberto to be happy at Wigan and we will be aiming to make sure that we do everything we can to keep him.'
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2152360/Aston-Villa-want-Paul-Lambert-replace-Alex-McLeish.html#ixzz1wO9q4sjBRead more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2152360/Aston-Villa-want-Paul-Lambert-replace-Alex-McLeish.html#ixzz1wO9gm5XnRead more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2152360/Aston-Villa-want-Paul-Lambert-replace-Alex-McLeish.html#ixzz1wO9Xk7daRead more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2152360/Aston-Villa-want-Paul-Lambert-replace-Alex-McLeish.html#ixzz1wO9NlXRC