Alex McLeish willing to meet furious Aston Villa fans face to face

• Manager calls on Villa and Blues fans to control ‘passions’
• McLeish wants Villa ‘to play in a style that suits them’

Alex McLeish is willing to meet Aston Villa supporters furious at his appointment as the club’s manager. The Scot spoke publicly for the first time on Monday since making his controversial switch from Birmingham City and, having expressed surprise at the level of anger he has provoked, made clear his determination to win over those fans who wished he had remained at St Andrew’s.”I don’t see why not,” said McLeish when asked if he would attend a Villa fans’ forum in an attempt to curb the animosity coming his way. More than 500 Villa supporters protested outside the ground last week as his impending arrival as Gérard Houllier’s replacement drew closer and another 10,000 joined a Facebook campaign calling on Villa’s owner, Randy Lerner, not to hire the former Scotland manager. McLeish has also received death threats and was on Monday confronted by offensive graffiti as he made his way into Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training base.”Moving across the city has stirred some emotions, which I did not anticipate,” said McLeish, who has signed a three-year contract at Villa worth £6m, having resigned from Birmingham via an email sent to the club’s acting chairman, Peter Pannu, last Sunday. “I understand people have passions and I would just ask they didn’t take it to extremes. That includes Birmingham fans, some of whom I’m sure would like to punch me.””Am I fazed by it [the abuse]? Yes, it’s disappointing but all I can do is win the Villa fans over. I took criticism at Rangers [where he managed for four and a half years], and it doesn’t come tougher than up there. I am not totally immune but this is the biggest challenge of my life and I couldn’t think twice about it.”McLeish is aware Villa fans are against him not only because he has come directly from Birmingham but also because he led them to relegation from the Premier League playing in a less than attractive manner. Birmingham finished as the division’s lowest scorers with 37 goals.But the 52-year-old, who also won the Carling Cup last season, securing Birmingham’s first major trophy since 1967, has defended his managerial style and said he would be more expansive at Villa. “There are some good attacking players here and I want to play in a style that suits them,” he said. “But I wouldn’t say Birmingham played bad football. The biggest thing was the lack of goals and it didn’t help that our man in form, Nikola Zigic, didn’t play again after the Carling Cup final. Obafemi Martins also broke his leg after the final, so there was a lot of bad luck.”McLeish is likely to be without a couple of key attacking players at Villa Park too next season, with Ashley Young poised to sign for Manchester United and Stewart Downing having indicated he wants to move.He accepts Young is “going to leave” but harbours hope that Downing can be persuaded to stay. “There’s a couple of years left on his contract and it’s important we keep him, I’ll sit down with him and see what happens.” McLeish said.McLeish also needs to sign a goalkeeper following Brad Friedel’s departure to Tottenham but it is possible his focus on transfers will be disrupted by the ill-feeling between him and his former employers.Birmingham are refusing to give up on their £5.4m compensation claim against Villa, claiming they approached McLeish before he resigned while on holiday, and say they are prepared to take the matter to court. Villa have denied making an illegal approach.McLeish issued a statement via the League Managers’ Association last week claiming his position at St Andrew’s had become “untenable”. He refused to comment on the issue on Monday, or on speculation that he will sue Birmingham for constructive dismissal.Birmingham expect to appoint McLeish’s successor by the end of the week, having held interviews with Chris Hughton and Roberto Di Matteo

(The Guardian )