Well, the inevitable has finally occurred, with Aston Villa’s hierarchy having, at long last, lost patience with Paul Lambert. The Scot was last night given his marching orders after a drab 2-0 loss at the hands of struggling Hull on Tuesday, which has well and truly dropped the Villains towards the brown stuff (relegation).

It all looked bright initially under Lambert, but the goals have dried up, the points have become increasing scarce and the mood at Villa Park has turned bluer than Birmingham City’s home shirt. And with danger only a quick glance around ‘the corner’, something needs to be done, with a new manager certainly the best starting point... and here are THREE options.

Jurgen Klinsmann

One of the early favourites to take the job is USA coach Klinsmann, who has been mightily impressive in charge of the USMNT. America really put up a fine showing at the World Cup last year, and the German has been at the helm through the period in which soccer has moved out of the shadows ‘across the pond’ and into the mainstream.

The leap from international to club management is a big one, though, with the unique challenges of guiding a team like Villa tricky. Klinsmann, however, has the star factor and some knowledge of the English game, so he could be a wise option.

Michael Laudrup

Although a long-term option is desirable, Mr Itchy Feet himself, Michael Laudrup, has been linked with the position. Since 2007 the Dane has barely stayed in charge of a club side for longer than a year, with his spell at Swansea ended shortly into his second campaign after a debut season yielded League Cup glory. Now in charge of Qatari club Lekhwiya, a move back to an established league may tempt the Scandinavian, who is known for promoting attractive football and is a household name due to his magnificent playing career.

Tim Sherwood

Could the gilet be back? Maybe... Sherwood appears reluctant to leave London after missing out on various other jobs since his Spurs exit at the end of last season, but a genuinely huge club like Villa may be enough to lure him away. Although his ‘say it how it is’ mentality and ‘one of the lads’ persona makes him a little bit of a joke among other fans, he actually appears to be a decent coach, and enjoyed a relatively successful spell at Spurs. Further to this, he was instrumental in bringing young players such as Nabil Bentaleb through, which may appeal to the Villa board.