Brian Sørensen has been handed interim charge following Natalia Arroyo's departure and Dan Bardell would be surprised if he isn't given a genuine opportunity to take the job permanently, although the timing of Aston Villa's decision could leave an intriguing Carla Ward possibility.
Aston Villa are yet to give any indication of how quickly they intend to appoint Natalia Arroyo's permanent successor, but the early signs point towards Brian Sørensen being given a genuine opportunity to make the job his own, and I wouldn't be surprised if what has initially been presented as an interim appointment ultimately becomes a fairly swift permanent one.
Sørensen was placed in temporary charge following Arroyo's departure after a winless opening four games of the Women's Super League season, culminating in the hugely disappointing 4-0 defeat at Tottenham, but this isn't simply a case of Villa asking somebody from the existing coaching staff to look after the team while they decide what comes next. The former Everton manager was already inside the club as women's technical adviser and has considerable experience of the WSL, while the development around his proposed role with the Republic of Ireland potentially gives us an indication of how seriously Villa are treating his position.
Only last week, Sørensen was announced as part of former Villa manager Carla Ward's Republic of Ireland coaching staff for their upcoming World Cup play-offs, with the intention that he would work alongside Ward during the international windows. Initially it appeared that taking temporary charge of Villa wouldn't necessarily affect that arrangement, but Sørensen will now no longer be joining the Ireland set-up, with Villa understood to want his complete focus while he is responsible for the women's team.
For me, that immediately makes Sørensen the most obvious candidate for the permanent position because, while it certainly doesn't guarantee Villa won't look elsewhere or speak to other managers, I would be very surprised if he isn't given a proper opportunity to demonstrate that he should remain in charge. He is already at the club, he knows the squad and the structure around it, he has managed in the WSL before and Villa don't have to wait for him to become available or negotiate his release from another club, so if there is a positive response from the players and an improvement in performances, there is a fairly straightforward route towards turning the interim appointment into a permanent one.
There is another name which will inevitably be discussed by Villa supporters, though, and that is Ward, because I made no secret after Arroyo's departure that I would personally love to see her return. I don't think the women's team has ever properly replaced what she brought to the club, not simply in terms of results but in the connection that existed around the team, because during her time at Villa there was a sense that the group had been put together with purpose and that the women's operation was moving positively after what had previously been a fairly messy period.
It has never felt quite as joined up since Ward left and the team has been consistently inconsistent, but any discussion about her returning has to come with the fairly substantial caveat that she is completely committed to the Republic of Ireland and there is absolutely nothing at this stage to suggest she is looking to leave that position or that Villa have approached her about coming back.
Where it potentially becomes interesting is the timing of Villa's decision, because Ireland's situation could look very different after the November international window depending on whether they progress in their World Cup qualification campaign. If Villa were prepared to leave Sørensen in interim charge for the next couple of months rather than immediately making a permanent appointment, it is at least possible that Ward's availability could change depending on what happens with Ireland, although that is very different from suggesting Villa are waiting for her or that Ward is considering a return because there is currently no evidence of either.
That is partly why I think Sørensen remains comfortably the most likely outcome at this stage and why this could potentially move much quicker than people expect. Villa already have somebody in the building with significantexperience in women's football, having previously managed Fortuna Hjørring and FC Nordsjælland in Denmark before spending three years with Everton, and he has also had the advantage of assessing this Villa squad from the inside rather than arriving midway through a season and having to work everything out from scratch.
That familiarity shouldn't be underestimated because the next appointment needs to be about considerably more than simply producing the usual short-term reaction that can follow a managerial change. Villa haven't really found the stability or identity they had during Ward's three years at the club and, while there have been flashes of progress since she left, the overall picture has been far too inconsistent and it has become increasingly difficult to understand exactly what Villa Women are trying to become.
That is probably the biggest challenge for whoever takes the job permanently, because Villa don't necessarily need to recreate the Ward era or simply look backwards because something previously worked, but they do need to rediscover the sense of direction that existed during that period. There was a connection between the manager, the players and the supporters, you understood what Villa were trying to build and there was a feeling that the women's team was progressing alongside the wider football club, whereas over the last couple of years that identity has gradually become harder to recognise.
Sørensen now has the opportunity to show that he can restore some of that and the decision over his Republic of Ireland role is why I think his interim appointment should be taken particularly seriously. Villa clearly want his full attention and, rather than simply asking somebody already at the club to oversee a couple of matches while they immediately search elsewhere, it feels as though he is going to be afforded the opportunity to demonstrate that the permanent answer might already be inside the building.
I would be very surprised if he wasn't given that chance and, if Villa respond positively over the next few games, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved relatively quickly either, because there isn't necessarily any reason to complicate the process if Sørensen comes in, improves performances and convinces the club that he is the right fit.
At this stage, everything points towards Sørensen being given a genuine opportunity to make the job his own, and I wouldn't be surprised if we find out fairly quickly whether Villa believe he has done enough to remove the interim tag altogether.
