David O'Leary's future as Aston Villa manager appeared increasingly uncertain last night after it emerged that he offered his support to the players who criticised the club's chairman Doug Ellis in a strongly worded statement released on Friday. According to one of those present at a training-ground meeting of players on Monday, the Villa manager promised to "stand by them" following their unprecedented attack on the chairman. It is a stance that effectively unites O'Leary with the players against Ellis.
O'Leary was summoned to Villa Park at around 5pm yesterday to meet the three-man team that has been set up to conduct an internal inquiry into the episode. The club has wasted no time in attempting to get to the bottom of the turmoil that has engulfed Villa Park and it is possible that O'Leary could be dismissed within the next 48 hours if evidence is uncovered that the Irishman was involved in the events that led to the players' statement being handed to a local newspaper on Friday afternoon.
His position could be weakened by his allegiance to the players and gives Ellis grounds for believing that the Villa manager played a part in the issuing of the statement, something he has continued to deny. Following the hastily arranged meeting on Monday, O'Leary revealed that the players had lodged an official request to meet the chairman.
Although there has been general unrest at Villa stemming from the chairman's persistent parsimony across all areas, the players' statement was not released with the backing of the entire first-team squad. That alone has left several players confused and others curious at O'Leary's decision to offer support to a statement that, in some cases, they knew nothing about. It leaves the Irishman caught in the middle of an internecine struggle that would appear to be pushing him closer to the exit door by the day. O'Leary could not be contacted last night.
He left Villa Park after 15 minutes yesterday evening following brief talks with Steve Stride, Villa's operations director, and two non-executive directors, David Owen and Steven Kind. The manager described the meeting as "cordial" and would not comment further but he must sense that the board have him in their sights. Villa's suspicion over O'Leary's possible role as the perpetrator of last Friday's statement has led to attempts to access the Irishman's mobile phone record.
Those moves were blocked, however, when Sportmobile, a celebrity phone company, co-owned by the former Villa manager John Gregory, denied the club access to O'Leary's account. Gregory's own mobile phone bill was examined during his time in charge at Villa Park but this time access was denied. "Clients come to us in complete confidentiality," said the Sportmobile managing director John Shepherd. "We never release details."
That impasse will not prevent Ellis trying to discover the truth behind the statement which will have deeply hurt his pride. The Villa chairman is on holiday in Mallorca and would feel no reason to return in the event of O'Leary being dismissed this week. There has been minimal contact between the manager and chairman over the summer, with only two phone calls exchanged hitherto, illustrating just how strained their relationship has become. There can be little doubt that it is now beyond repair.
If Ellis, were to dismiss O'Leary before the start of the new season it would be well to do so quickly. Villa travel to Arsenal four weeks on Saturday, leaving any possible replacement - Alan Curbishley is a strong contender - for O'Leary's job with little time to galvanise a squad that appears disillusioned, bereft of leadership and, most of all, perplexed by the last few days. Kevin Phillips described the fallout from the players' statement as a "feeding frenzy" and expressed the need to focus on matters on the field.
It is inconceivable that there will not be major changes before Villa travel to Arsenal. The Villa chairman is not renowned for his patience, though, and there is a growing feeling that O'Leary's time will soon be up.
