As part of his first steps as Aston Villa manager, Alex McLeish says he is willing to meet fans of his new club who are angry at his appointment, the Guardian report.
Speaking for the first time since his controversial switch, he also expressed his surprise at the levels of anger shown but said he is determined to win over those fans, that disapprove at his move across the city.
The ex-Blues manager said: “Moving across the city has stirred some emotions, which I did not anticipate. I understand people have passions and I would just ask they didn’t take it to extremes.” He continued: “That includes Birmingham fans, some of whom I’m sure would like to punch me.”
The Scot then added it is not dissimilar to his experience at Rangers: “It’s disappointing but all I can do is win the fans over. I took criticism at Rangers and it doesn’t come tougher than up there. I am not totally immune but this is the biggest challenge of my life and I couldn’t think twice about it.”
