Steve Bruce sacking: Dean Smith touted as man to succeed Bruce, but Aston Villa will have to offer ‘something special’
Smith, currently the manager at Villa's Championship rivals Brentford, is the bookies' favourite
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ASTON VILLA will have to offer Dean Smith “something special” to replace sacked boss Steve Bruce.
The Brentford chief is the bookies’ favourite after Bruce’s axe yesterday, a day after having a cabbage hurled at him.
But Smith said: “There is a lot of stickability about me. I am quite a loyal person.
“I spent ten years at Walsall, ten at Orient and I am really enjoying it at Brentford — so something special would have to tempt me away because I enjoy it so much.”
New Villa chief executive Christian Purslow summoned Bruce, 57, to a meeting at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground yesterday morning and told him his near two-year reign was over.
A run of one win in ten games sealed his fate.
Purslow will now scour the market for a suitable replacement after owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens challenged him to have a new manager in place in time for Villa’s home match against Swansea on October 20.
Bruce will leave with a £2million pay-off and will be followed out of Villa Park by assistants Colin Calderwood, Steve Agnew, Stephen Clemence and Gary Walsh.
The appointment of Smith, a Villa fan, would appeal to many supporters.
However, sources close to the troubled club say the field is wide open as Sawiris and Edens have ordered an “extensive search” as they look to make their first managerial appointment.
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Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers and out-of-work David Moyes and Sam Allardyce are among the experienced names in the betting, while Thierry Henry and John Terry have also been linked with the job.
Ex-Manchester United No2 Carlos Queiroz, now manager of Iran, and Shakhtar Donetsk boss Paulo Fonseca could also be interested.
Both have links with super-agent Jorge Mendes, who has advised Villa in recent transfer dealings.
Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with bottom club Preston left Villa 12th in the Sky Bet Championship after they managed just three wins from their first 11 league games this season.
Bruce left Villa exactly two years to the day after predecessor Roberto Di Matteo was sacked — having nearly made it FIVE promotions in May until Fulham won a tense play-off final 1-0.
He is the first manager to lose his job in the second tier this season.
A club statement read: “We would like to place on record our gratitude to Steve and his team for their hard work and commitment. We wish them well for the future.”
Villa’s Under-23s chief Kevin MacDonald will be in charge of the team for Saturday’s trip to Millwall.