Over the past few weeks there has been growing speculation about my position at the football club and I genuinely felt that was affecting the performance of the players."There were certain things going on behind the scenes which were affecting my managerial position. Delighted with the opportunity to be involved in the Uefa Cup quarter-final against Atletico Madrid, he acknowledged that his prime task of keeping Villa in the Premiership would be hard work. "I know it is a tough job but I think 42 or 43 points might be enough for safety."Certainly a few days ago, when I was at Wycombe, I wasn't thinking about this job I think this job has come at the right time It is also the right time for me to come back to Villa Park I am going to grasp the opportunity with both hands. It is a huge club and I have been part of it in recent times."Little's recent times at Villa Park have been filled with intrigue, from what he told the press at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground yesterday after saying goodbye to the players. He claimed that there were "certain things going on behind the scenes which were affecting my managerial position".He refused to elaborate, but even Gregory felt obliged to distance himself from any involvement in Little's departure, saying: "There has been a bit of muck-throwing in the last week or so - not of my doing."Little hoped that his decision to leave after three and a half years would ease the growing pressure on the team. Little barely had time to offer some explanation of his departure at his own press conference yesterday afternoon before Gregory moved into his old office.
It was an environment Gregory was not unfamiliar with, having only a year ago resigned from Little's back-room staff and dropped to the Second Division to take over as manager of Wycombe Wanderers. Perhaps the increasing doubts over Little's future, which he admitted had played a part in his decision to go, had prompted Villa to give some thought to a successor. Certainly the move for Gregory was quick, as the new manager explained on ClubCall. "I knew at 6 pm yesterday that I had the chance to do the job. We concluded things at about 3 pm today," he said.His appointment came as a surprise, particularly to the local evening paper, which yesterday offered readers the chance to nominate their choice from a list of a dozen possible new managers. Gregory was not on it.The man himself said his new status had taken a while to sink in Gregory said: "This has been a traumatic time for the club. The team had an awful start to the season and it has escalated. One defeat sent alarm-bells ringing."He said the most important thing was to pick up three points from the match at Liverpool on Saturday.
JOHN GREGORY is the new manager of Aston Villa, who wasted no time in filling the job vacated by Brian Little on Tuesday afternoon. Financially, I have allowed for the possibility that we could be in the First Division for two of those five years but I can't accept that we will not be able to turn around our fortunes this season and stay up," he explained.Amid all the bombast, one dissenting was that of Laurie Dahl, editor of the Palace fanzine Echo, who warned: "I wouldn't like Venables back at the club, being one of those that remember the rape of the club that occurred when he left. He took half the team off to QPR, and it took us years to recover from that.". Whether he will accept one from Palace remains to be seen.Goldberg has put down a deposit of pounds 10m with the remaining pounds 20m paid upon completion in October to secure 85 per cent of the club's shares, will invest at least pounds 5m on new players over the next 18 months, as well as a similar amount on stadium redevelopment plans.Despite Palace being in 19th place in the Premiership, Goldberg's declared aim is to establish them among the elite as they contemplate their third relegation in five years."I have a five-year plan to make Palace a club that can compete in Europe. The south London side could also sign Italian players on loan from Juve.Goldberg explained: "Juventus will be technical directors for football. They have a formula which has been proven over many years to optimise the experience and expertise of the playing staff."Goldberg has a grandiose five-year plan for Palace and envisages the club having become a force in Europe, playing in a redeveloped 40,000- capacity stadium at Selhurst Park and having transformed their training, management and medical facilities by that time.Venables, who managed Palace from 1976 to 1980 before leaving for Queen's Park Rangers, is in Malaysia with the Australian national team and is not due to return to Britain until next Monday, yet is believed to be prepared to listen to offers from any Premiership club. Steve is important to me in terms of my future plans but we will be looking to replace him as manager shortly."Once he has been replaced as manager, Coppell will work alongside a Juventus executive, based full-time at Selhurst Park, while Roberto Bettega, the Juventus vice president, is to be invited to become an executive director at Palace.