McLeish: Under pressure

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Villa fans plot McLeish exit

A group of Aston Villa fans are planning to protest manger Alex McLeish’s tenure at the club after a poor run of results.

Villa enjoyed a good start to the season, going seven games unbeaten - although admittedly four of the clashes ended in draws. The Villans’ form has dipped significantly since then, with just four wins since the unbeaten run was broken in mid-October.

Much of the blame for Villa’s poor form has fallen on the shoulders of McLeish and a section of the fans appear to have run out of patience.

“We have played 24 games this season, we have won six! Is this good enough? No. This is relegation form. Alex McLeish is not the man to lead Aston Villa,” a statement on ‘Vital Villa’ (VV) fans’ website read.

“He had a full pre-season, was given £20million (approximately) to spend and has players of the calibre of Darren Bent, Gabby Agbonlahor and Stephen Ireland to work with (also the most promising batch of home-grown players produced in years).

“Despite all this, we find ourselves 13th in the table and without a home win since Bonfire Night (November 5).

“Now after the debacle of Sunday, with the players now seeming to be in open revolt, the future is looking very bleak indeed.

“We need to act now before it is too late and the unthinkable happens.

“If you support this, please join us 3pm on Sunday, Trinity Road Stand by the McGregor Statue. If you don’t then please ignore this.”

McLeish is not the first manager to be the subject of fan protests this season, with Blackburn boss Steve Kean facing a constant barrage of abuse while Bolton’s Owen Coyle and Mick McCarthy of Wolves have also fallen on the wrong side of the fans.