Is Kevin MacDonald the right man for Aston Villa?

Following Aston Villa’s 3-0 opening day win over West Ham, Stilian Petrov amongst others has called for the appointment of caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald on a permanent basis. There is no doubting MacDonald is due praise for steadying the ship just five days after Martin O’Neill’s resignation, as well as for his bold inclusion of Ciaran Clark and Marc Albrighton in the starting line up. However, a quick trawl through the recent history of caretakers who have made the step up to full-time manager suggests that the Villa board should proceed with caution.

It can’t be easy being thrust into the limelight after the unexpected departure of a manager. As is the case with most individuals who find themselves in the role of caretaker manager, MacDonald has been a long serving and valued member of his club’s backroom staff who has had to adapt to the demands of top flight management overnight. With O’Neill leaving him just five days to prepare, MacDonald will have had to get the players to adapt to his methods in a very short timeframe with little in the way of assistance.

Looking at it from another perspective however, it could well have made the job easier. After all, the expectations were virtually nil so MacDonald will have been slightly more carefree in his approach and tactics and than he would otherwise have been. It is also widely acknowledged that teams benefit from the ‘bounce effect’ when under the stewardship of a new manager, which may well have played to MacDonald’s favour, especially given some players’ dislike of O’Neill if reports are to be believed.

The problem often arises when the board takes the plunge and hands the caretaker manager the position on a full time basis. He now has to put arrangements in place for a long term stay, get to understand the transfer market (of which he is likely to have had no prior experience), and develop a more measured approach in preparing his side for what can be a long and arduous season. The honeymoon period is over very quickly and expectation levels from the board and fans increase virtually overnight.

The two most recent examples of failed experiments in this respect lie in the North East. Glenn Roeder took over as caretaker manager at Newcastle in February 2006 following the dismissal of Graeme Souness, salvaging the Magpies’ season and leading the team to seventh place finish in the league. After then being appointed permanently by Freddy Shepherd, less than a year later he was out of a job following a inconsistent season which was blighted by injuries and resulted in just one win in ten prior to his departure.

At close rivals Sunderland, Ricky Sbragia was given temporary responsibility for first team affairs after Roy Keane left the club. After a 4-0 victory over West Brom and a 4-1 win against Hull in his opening three games, and with the support of the players, Sbragia was handed an 18 month contract as manager. However, the Black Cats’ form subsequently dipped and they only managed to avoid relegation on the last day of the season, at which point Sbragia handed in his resignation and retired to the role of chief scout for the club.

The jury also remains out on a couple of managers promoted recently after having initially taken on their roles in a caretaker capacity. In the Championship, Brian McDermott still has much to prove at Reading with 1 point from 6 hardly a healthy return so far this season. North of the border, Neil Lennon has been handed the reins at Celtic after his caretaker stint following Tony Mowbray’s departure and will need to deliver on the domestic front having seen his side’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League group stages go up in smoke.

However, there are of course some success stories, the most current being that of Chris Hughton at Newcastle. Having being made caretaker manager at St. James’s Park last summer on the basis that Mike Ashley wanted to sell the club and was reluctant to make a full-time appointment, an impressive start to the season saw him win two manager of the month awards and led to his permanent appointment. This didn’t appear to have any adverse effects on his side’s march to the title, although he may find the going somewhat tougher in the Premier League.

So plenty for Randy Lerner and the Villa board to think about. They have said they are not going to be rushed into an appointment, which may give MacDonald time to play himself into contention, starting with the Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna tomorrow evening. However, Lerner would do well to apply some perspective in understanding whether MacDonald really is the right man to take the club forward, or whether he is just benefiting from the current lack of restrictions and expectations in his position.