• 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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• Bradley agrees contract extension with US until 2014
• Villa looking for candidates with Premier League experience

Bob Bradley appears to be out of the running for the Aston Villa manager’s job after signing an extension to his contract as coach of the United States national team.

The 52-year-old has agreed a new deal with the US Soccer Federation which runs until the end of 2014. Reports had suggested that Villa’s American owner, Randy Lerner, may be prepared to offer him the chance to manage in the Premier League.

Under Bradley, the US were knocked out of the World Cup at the last 16 stage by Ghana. Three years ago he guided the US to the Concacaf Gold Cup and then, in 2009, to the final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where the they lost to Brazil.

Villa have been without a manager since Martin O’Neill resigned earlier this month. Kevin MacDonald has been working with the first team in a caretaker capacity since the Northern Irishman’s departure.

Bradley became an outsider for the Villa job when the club’s chief executive, Paul Faulkner, issued a statement on Sunday describing previous Premier League managerial experience as one of the key criteria in the recruitment process, something which the American does not have.

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At least Kevin MacDonald can go into his meeting with Randy Lerner with a smile on his face. Whether MacDonald wants to take over as manager or, perhaps more to the point, whether the Villa owner is interested in appointing him, remains to be seen, but three points here have gone some way towards repairing the damage inflicted after a chastening week that included a 6-0 thumping at Newcastle and elimination from Europe.

Everton were the more accomplished side and laid siege to the Villa goal at times but Luke Young’s splendid early strike, when he curled a left-footed shot beyond Tim Howard, proved the difference. The relief at the final whistle was tangible and not only among the Villa supporters. MacDonald, who has been in charge on a caretaker basis since Martin O’Neill walked out five days before the start of the season, looked emotionally drained.

Lerner made a visit to the home dressing room afterwards to congratulate MacDonald and the players. The Villa chairman will start interviewing for a successor to O’Neill during the international break and he has told MacDonald he will need to know whether he wishes to be considered for the position by tomorrow morning at the latest. The 50-year-old is comfortable with that timetable, although he remains none the wiser about whether to throw his name forward.

“Mr Lerner came in to say well done to the players,” MacDonald said. “He also passed on a comment to say well done to myself and Tony [McAndrew, MacDonald's assistant], because he knows the emotions we had been going through [on the touchline].

“He said: ‘Take your time and enjoy your evening, think about what we have said before and speak to him tomorrow evening or at the latest Tuesday morning.’ But he didn’t put any pressure on me, which I was pleased about.

“I still don’t know whether it’s for me or not. I have thoughts where I want to do it and I’ve had other thoughts that this isn’t what my life is about. I have also got to believe that I am going to be good enough myself. That’s something that I think about deeply. I’ve got to believe that I am good enough to make sure Aston Villa stays where it is and, hopefully, progresses, whether that’s with some more younger players or whatever.”

The Villa caretaker, who was more animated on the touchline than in previous matches, would have been breathing more easily if his side had taken one of the opportunities they spurned on the counterattack. Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper, thwarted John Carew and Ashley Young on a couple of occasions but the most inviting chance for Villa to double their lead fell to Marc Albrighton. With Howard stranded, the young winger blazed horribly over from six yards out.

Everton left the pitch crestfallen and well they might. David Moyes’s side played like the home team, taking the game to Villa and doing everything but score. The statistics said it all: Everton controlled 68% of possession and had 18 corners to Villa’s four. It was as much as Villa could do to get out of their half at times and, in the closing stages, they were hanging on for dear life. Deep into injury time, Brad Friedel denied Louis Saha with two fine saves.

Plenty of Everton chances had also come and gone before the frantic finale. Steven Pienaar struck the crossbar in the 18th minute with a brilliant curling shot while Saha, whose arrival for the ineffective Jermaine Beckford gave Everton some much-needed thrust up front, drew a smart reflex save from Friedel on the hour. Three minutes later Jack Rodwell found space in the Villa penalty area but his glancing header from Mikel Arteta’s free-kick flashed inches wide.

All of which was of little consolation to Moyes, who has presided over Everton’s worst start to a league season in 11 years. “If that’s the case, it’s another milestone I’ve achieved,” said Everton’s manager, who admitted his team were guilty of over-elaborating at times. “When you don’t feel as though you are scoring freely, you try and be over-precise. But we did enough to come away with something, if not more than one point.”

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