Alex McLeish has been sacked as manager of Aston Villa, fewer than 24 hours after the end of his first season in charge.

The Scot was an unpopular appointment with many Villa fans after he oversaw city rivals Birmingham’s relegation from the Premier League last term.

And he only narrowly avoided a similar fate with Villa this season, the club finishing just two points above the bottom three to stay in English football’s top flight.

Villa ended the campaign with a run of nine winless matches and for the club’s US-based owner Randy Lerner, never mind fans capable of recalling the Midlands side’s 1982 European Cup triumph, that just wasn’t good enough.

“We need to be clear and candid with ourselves and with supporters about what we have lacked in recent years,” Lerner told the club’s website on Monday.

“Compelling play and results that instil a sense of confidence that Villa is on the right track have been plainly absent.

“The most immediate action that we can take is to look carefully at our options in terms of bringing in a new manager who sees the club’s potential and embraces our collective expectations.”