As you've probably seen Hughes has resigned as manager of Fulham. For the past couple of days he has been strongly linked with managing the Villa team yet only this morning I was reading an article that said Villa had released a press statement to clarify that at no stage had they been in contact with Hughes regarding the vacant position..... 6 hours later he resigns at Fulham, how many more hours before he is announced as the new Villa boss then?? ... 24 .... 48???
To answer your question, yes they do. To be fair to Mark Hughes, he was only on a one year contract at Fulham, so had every right to leave if he wished. Given the choice of Fulham or Aston Villa, I know where I would go and it wouldn't be to a club that had links to Harrods ........and when I did get there, I would make that bastard Bent rot in the reserves
Ripped from SSN........... Sky Sports sources understand that Mark Hughes is not in the frame to take charge of Aston Villa despite leaving his role as Fulham manager on Thursday evening. Gerard Houllier stepped down as Villa boss earlier this week to concentrate on his health and Villa immediately started searching for a replacement. Hughes' departure from Craven Cottage then fuelled speculation that he would be appointed as Houllier's successor in the near future. However, the Welshman insisted as he quit Fulham that he had not received an approach from anyone and that his decision had not been influenced by outside parties. And Sky Sports sources understand that Villa are not currently considering Hughes as they look to fill the vacant hot-seat. A number of other high-profile names have been linked with the position as Villa aim to build on a ninth-placed Premier League finish under Houllier. Carlo Ancelotti, sacked by Chelsea at the end of the season, is now second favourite with Sky Bet to land the job after having his odds slashed. The plot thickens!
The plot thickens even more.. Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is believed to be high on Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner's list of preferred options to replace Gerard Houllier as manager, Press Association Sport understands. Villa are drawing up a shortlist, also likely to include Fulham's Mark Hughes and Everton's David Moyes, after Houllier's nine-month reign ended because of concerns over his health. They are hoping to appoint Houllier's successor before the end of June to give him time to assess the current squad and bring in new signings prior to the 2011-12 campaign. There has been intense speculation that Hughes is bound for Villa Park and he is the current favourite with the bookmakers. He signed a two-year deal last summer although he can activate a get-out clause for the final 12 months. But Ancelotti is also understood to be impressing Lerner given his outstanding track record. He led the Blues to the double in his first season at Stamford Bridge before being sacked by Chelsea last month having ended the season trophyless. Lerner would have to convince Ancelotti that Villa match his own ambitions and can mount a serious challenge for Champions League football. Villa may also find Ancelotti's wage demands could be a stumbling block after reportedly earning around £5million last season at Chelsea. He has been linked with a move to newly-promoted QPR should they dispense with Neil Warnock. Ultimately, Hughes may turn out to be a more realistic proposition for Villa should he decide to seek fresh pastures
Would be madness to sack Bruce purely because of the cost involved as we need every penny by the looks of things this summer for new players
