It only seemed like a matter of time before Aston Villa parted company with Paul Lambert. Despite steady success with Norwich City, Lambert simply never got going at Villa Park and struggled to win over the support of the fans in his time as manager of the Midlands club.

Names such as Neil Lennon and Jurgen Klinsmann were linked with the managerial post but Tim Sherwood was always the stand out favourite to succeed Lambert. Sherwood had been linked with almost every managerial vacancy this season and it was only a matter of time before the promising young manager returned to England’s top flight.

The 46-year-old will be looking to hit the ground running and the first issue that needs to be resolved is Villa’s rather gloomy league position. They are currently languishing in 18th place, firmly in a relegation battle. The concern for Sherwood will be the fact that Villa have the worst goal difference in the league with -22. This is hardly a surprise considering the problems the team has had with finding the back of the net and it is something Sherwood will be desperate to sort out if his team are to avoid the drop this season.

[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]

The former Tottenham Head Coach divided opinion when he took charge of Tottenham’s first team affairs last season. The 46-year-old was not shy in expressing his own views after matches. Sherwood would often be brutally honest if his team played poorly but he always gave off the impression that he was confident in his own managerial ability.

The Villa players need a figurehead like Sherwood to lead them out of trouble. At too many points this season, Lambert appeared to look dejected when talking to the media after the game. He was saying the right things but there was a lack of conviction to how he said it. Obviously, a change of personality is not going to be the sole reason behind Villa surviving this season. However, when a manager like Sherwood is given his chance to implement his authority, Aston Villa fans should expect a reaction from the players on the pitch.

Another encouraging aspect to Sherwood’s managerial approach is his willingness to play young, up-and-coming stars from the youth team. It would be unfair to dismiss Lambert in this particular instance as one of the main things he encouraged during his time at Aston Villa was the development of younger players. Sherwood will look to continue that trend as the club do have some talented young players that can play regularly for the first team. Names such as Jack Grealish and Graham Burke will be looking to impress the new manager as Sherwood will be looking to encourage the growth of youth prospects at the club.

The job at Villa Park is going to be a difficult one but it is well suited to a man like Tim Sherwood. His bullish attitude will hopefully get a reaction out of his players and his appointment is a fresh start for players at the club that have been struggling under Lambert this season.

It will be interesting to see how the likes of Chrsitian Benteke, Fabian Delph and Charles N’Zogbia develop under Sherwood as Villa have some talented players at their disposal if they play to their strengths.

All in all, the new Villa boss is an excellent candidate to lead the club away from a relegation dogfight. He may not have heaps of experience but the job is a good opportunity for the former Spurs man to prove that he has what it takes to be a good Premier league manager.

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]