Thursday 31 March 2016 07:01, UK
Nigel Pearson and David Moyes are the frontrunners to replace Remi Garde as Aston Villa manager, Sky Sports News HQ understands.
David Bernstein, who joined the board in March, is understood to be heading up a three-man committee which will seek out a replacement for Garde, who left the club by mutual consent on Tuesday.
Former manager Brian Little and Adrian Bevington - another new arrival at Villa this week in an advisory role - are the others involved.
Pearson was sacked by Leicester in June 2015, despite a remarkable run of seven wins in their last nine games which retained their Premier League status.
He has not managed since leaving the King Power Stadium, but former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor believes he may fit the bill due to his experience of Championship football.
Taylor, who played for Villa from 1994 to 2003, said: "He could be [the right man for the job]. I think he's got the experience of getting a team out of the Championship for sure.
"Anyone who takes the job is going to have a big, big job. There's going to have to be a big turnaround of players so there will be players coming and going.
"You need the right kind of players to play in the Championship. I've played in that division myself and it's relentless. There's a lot of games and you need the right kind of characters to get out of there."
Moyes has been without a managerial role since he left his position at Spanish side Real Sociedad in November.
The Scot spent more than 11 years at Everton and was chosen as Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement as Manchester United manager in 2013, but lasted less than a year at Old Trafford.
Moyes then made the surprise switch to La Liga but lasted one day short of a year and was dismissed following a poor start to this season having won just 12 of his 42 games in charge.
Garde left Villa after a poor run of results which saw him win only three times in 23 outings after replacing Tim Sherwood less than five months ago.
With Villa rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, the committee is taking a realistic approach towards the fact a new man will probably not want to be associated with taking the team down to the Championship.
An appointment is not expected immediately but an announcement is anticipated once the former European champions' relegation into the Championship is mathematically confirmed.
In the meantime, Eric Black will remain in place as acting manager. Villa resume their league campaign at home to Chelsea on Saturday.
