• Caretaker has players’ support as club begins interviews
• Timing of Fulham appointment counts against Mark Hughes

Aston Villa have compiled a five-man shortlist as they strive to identify Martin O’Neill’s successor. It includes Kevin MacDonald, currently serving as caretaker manager, who today confirmed he wanted a chance to fill the post created by O’Neill’s shock resignation. Indeed, Villa’s owner, Randy Lerner, is considering MacDonald’s candidature so seriously that he can probably be regarded as the current favourite.

The other contenders all possess greater Premier League experience but, after 15 years working in various coaching capacities at Villa Park, MacDonald boasts some significant supporters inside the club, including key players.

His cause is helped by a dearth of high-calibre managers available to take over a club that challenged for Champions League qualification last season.

Despite the recruitment difficulties, one candidate was interviewed yesterday by a panel headed by Lerner and Villa’s chief executive, Paul Faulkner. The club hopes the process will be concluded swiftly, with O’Neill’s successor installed by the end of the international break.

Although Villa’s board discussed the possibility of hiring Mark Hughes when there were fears O’Neill might quit at the end of last season, the Welshman joined Fulham just before the Northern Irishman left Villa Park.

Much as Hughes and Villa might privately wish their timing had been different, extricating the former Blackburn and Manchester City manager from Craven Cottage now would prove extremely tricky – not to mention expensive.

Removing Alex McLeish from Birmingham might be cheaper – it is thought Villa’s closest rivals would demand around £1m in compensation – but would be politically sensitive.

While David Moyes fits the profile of the sort of manager Villa are seeking, Everton have received no approach for his services and it is understood he is committed to remaining at Goodison Park. For Moyes, Villa would represent something of a sideways move, particularly as transfer funds seem almost as tight at the Midlands club as on Merseyside.

Elsewhere, Martin Jol is thought likely to remain at Ajax, where the former Tottenham manager can look forward to Champions League football, while Gareth Southgate’s career as an ITV pundit is proving so enjoyable the former Middlesbrough manager and Villa defender may harbour mixed feelings about returning to the dugout.

Sam Allardyce, currently impressing in charge of Blackburn Rovers, could be another potential candidate, but his reputation was damaged by a previous disappointing stint at Newcastle United, and his football philosophy remains an acquired taste.

It seems MacDonald’s mixed results – he has presided over two Premier League wins either side of a 6-0 defeat at Newcastle while also proving powerless to prevent Villa losing a vital Europa League qualifier against Rapid Vienna – will not count against him.

Even so, Villa’s landscape would look very different were Hughes a free agent.

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• Lack of top-flight experience counts against Bob Bradley
• Caretaker Kevin MacDonald will be considered if he applies

Aston Villa are stepping up the search for Martin O’Neill’s successor and will begin interviewing candidates this week. Ideally a new man should be installed by the end of the international break but no deadlines have been set.

The Villa Park board believe previous Premier League experience is imperative, effectively ruling out Bob Bradley, the USA coach who has expressed interest in the post. Villa are understood to have made no approach for David Moyes, the Everton manager, and are not thought to be interested in Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Kevin MacDonald, the Villa caretaker, had been in pole position but it seems a 6-0 hammering at Newcastle United followed by defeat in a Europa League qualifier against Rapid Vienna prompted Randy Lerner, Villa’s owner, to widen the hunt.

It is understood no other candidates had been approached before the European exit last Thursday but a statement from Villa Park indicated this has now changed. “We have thoroughly researched potential candidates and have reached out to a variety of contacts we have within the game for advice and guidance,” it said. “Two of the traits we believe are of crucial importance are that candidates have experience of managing in the Premier League and a strategy for building on the existing strengths in our current squad.”

Villa have made it clear that, despite a shortage of top‑flight managerial experience, the much admired MacDonald – who steered his players to victory over Everton yesterday – will still be considered for the job should he want to enter the interview process. He was due to meet Lerner to discuss the future today and his intentions should shortly become clear.

The former Villa defender Gareth Southgate, out of work since his dismissal by Middlesbrough last autumn, could be another candidate, while it is not inconceivable that Lerner may attempt to prise Martin Jol, the former Tottenham manager, away from Ajax.

Luke Young, the scorer of the winner against Everton, hopes that Villa will opt for MacDonald. “I am pleased we got the result for Kev. He has not had much luck this last week but he is very good at what he does and I hope now he is given a chance of being the manager,” said the full‑back, who was frozen out by O’Neill.

“As a squad of players we need to know who it is going to be, whether it is Kev or someone else. I have worked with Kev and know he knows football inside out. He knows tactics and formations and can see what is going right and what is going wrong. I have played under a few people who don’t know half as much as Kev.

“It is whether he wants to take the stress of what comes with being a first‑team manager but he has an edge about him that makes you want to please him. If Kev tells you you have played well you know you have played well. He knows his stuff.”

Young has clearly found MacDonald a better communicator than O’Neill, who apparently failed to explain his sidelining. “I am not sure what the reasons were,” he said. “It was a confusing time for me. I didn’t really get an answer to anything.”

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