Three names that were mentioned among the early candidates linked with succeeding Roberto Di Matteo as manager of Aston Villa are now ruled out of contention. BBC Journalist Pat Murphy reports that former boss Tim Sherwood and Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett are not in the running for the vacancy. Luton Town manager Nathan Jones has laughed off any suggestion he will be taking over at Villa Park.
Sherwood recently told Sky Sports that he would be open to the prospect of returning to the club to try and turn around their current misfortunes. He was sacked last season, paving the way for Remi Garde to take over the club, before they were relegated. However it has since been revealed that he won’t be given the opportunity to return to the club at this moment in time.
It was always somewhat unlikely that Rowett would leave bitter rivals Birmingham and switch allegiances across the city in moving to Villa. He is a manager that has developed something of a big reputation at this level, so it would appear it was only pure talk that linked him to this role.
Talking to Luton Today, Jones, who was linked to the job through The Mirror, admitted that he was ‘flattered to be linked with a big club such as Aston Villa, but acknowledges he is already in a ‘great job’ already at Kenilworth Road,
“If that speculation is true, then I’m very, very flattered, I really am.
“But this is a great job for me here and I’ve come here because there’s longevity in this job and I want to build something. “I don’t want a quick fix to move and to jump ship, I want to build something at this football club because it’s a wonderful football club.
“I love my job, I love the people I work with, the board have been unbelievable, my chief exec is superb, and I’m happy here.“So I’m very, very flattered to be linked with anything, I’ve been linked with stuff before I came here, but I have a pathway that I want and I’m very happy here at the minute.
“I’m Luton manager and I’m a proud Luton manager.”
