David Moyes? Nigel Pearson?…John Carver? ‘Next Aston Villa manager MUST unite broken club’, says Tony Cascarino

Aston Villa should ‘go across the board’ to find the right manager to unite their disjointed team, according to former striker Tony Cascarino.

Remi Garde was sacked as Villans boss this week after a disastrous first season in charge, which sees the Midlands 12 points adrift of safety and staring down the barrel of impending relegation.

Former Everton and Manchester United coach David Moyes and ex-Leicester manager Nigel Pearson have both been linked with the vacancy, while former Newcastle boss John Carver admitted on Saturday that he has applied for the role, but is yet to hear from the club about his job submission.

But after enduring a nightmare 18 months on and off the field, which has seen most of the club’s top stars depart and the team plummet to the bottom of the table, Cascarino believes the club would be wise to open up their search to find the right man to lead them forward.

“I wouldn’t rule out anybody,” he told the weekend Sports Breakfast.

“I wouldn’t rule out a League One or League Two manager - I’ve mentioned Chris Wilder and about how well he’s done a Northampton - I think Villa really have to go across the board. Brian Little’s job is to find that man.

“I’d want to interview every one of them and go with my gut feeling with a guy who I think would do really well.

“They need to get the right manager in that job, sort out that team and do what’s required, because at every level they’ve got it wrong.

“From in the board room, to young players not getting into the team and recruitment - everything has gone wrong for Aston Villa over the last 18 months for me. This year has been disastrous.

“Nigel Pearson? He did an amazing job at Leicester and what we’ve seen this year holds really well for him. But I still wouldn’t make a decision based on that.

“Villa have to go back to basics now. They’ve got to buy players who want to come and play for the shirt, and who Villa fans will be delighted to have because they know they’re going to give everything. That’s what you need to get out of the Championship.

“It’s important they get everyone pulling in the right direction.”