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Confirmed: Aston Villa agree new signing after paperwork finalised
By Harry Sykes
Former Rangers youth chief Jimmy Sinclair has joined the Aston Villa backroom staff until the end of the season, the club have confirmed.
Caretaker manager Eric Black has brought in Sinclair as his No2 to assist him for the rest of the campaign.
A statement on the Villa website on Friday revealed that Black, who has been placed in temporary charge until a new manager is appointed, has elected to bring in another coach to help work with the first team for the final six games of the current season.
Sinclair most recently held a role in the Queen’s Park youth set-up but is best remembered for his eight-and-a-half years at Ibrox. He has also held the post of technical director at the Scottish Football Association.
Villa are on the hunt for a new manager after sacking Remi Garde last week in the wake of a wretched run of results that leaves the club almost certainly heading to the Championship.
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The Premier League mainstays could have their relegation confirmed this weekend, if the Midlands club fail to match Norwich’s result, confirming what has been seemingly inevitable for much of the season.
Speaking on the Fantasy Football Club podcast on Friday, former Villa playmaker Merson is convinced that an experienced British manager should be appointed to lead the club back into the English top flight.
“Their biggest signing is their next manager,” Merson said. “[David] Moyes, [Nigel] Pearson or [Mick] McCarthy would sort them out.”
The hunt for the successor to Garde is in the hands of a new-look Villa board which includes former FA chief David Bernstein and ex-manager Brian Little.
Target man: Pearson has been shortlisted by Villa to replace Garde
Bernstein has made it clear in interviews that the club are looking for an experienced British boss to lead a major rebuilding job.
Pearson, who has been out of work since being sacked by Leicester last summer, is the current bookmakers’ favourite for the post, narrowly ahead of Ipswich manager McCarthy, Hull boss Steve Bruce and Moyes, who is not currently attached to a club.
In other Aston Villa news, one of the club’s longest-standing players is set to be offloaded this summer.