O'Leary walks from Villa with £1M pay-off
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David O'Leary walked away from Aston Villa last night with a cool £1 million pay-off.
The Irishman landed the jackpot pay-off because an internal inquiry failed to implicate him in the Villagate affair and the statement blasting penny-pinching.
The club insisted it was an "amicable parting" but the row clearly played a part in the manager's departure.
As O'Leary walked away from Villa Park last night a fan irate at both O'Leary and veteran chairman Ellis shouted: "And take the old man with you."
O'Leary, 48, made a 15-minute appearance before a three-man inquiry team headed by Villa operations director Steve Stride on Tuesday and returned for more talks yesterday.
Stride has also held talks with several senior players - including Juan Pablo Angel and Thomas Sorensen.
John Barnwell, chief executive of the League Managers' Association, last night confirmed he had been in contact with O'Leary.
He said: "David is one of our members and we were concerned about all the media reports and speculation surrounding him.
"It's fair to say we have been in fact-finding discussions with David to ascertain the truth."
Ellis had privately made it clear at the weekend that he did not want to give O'Leary any severance money.
That means the pay-off package could include the guarantee that the departing manager will not say anything about his old chairman in the future.
The Irishman landed the jackpot pay-off because an internal inquiry failed to implicate him in the Villagate affair and the statement blasting penny-pinching.
The club insisted it was an "amicable parting" but the row clearly played a part in the manager's departure.
As O'Leary walked away from Villa Park last night a fan irate at both O'Leary and veteran chairman Ellis shouted: "And take the old man with you."
O'Leary, 48, made a 15-minute appearance before a three-man inquiry team headed by Villa operations director Steve Stride on Tuesday and returned for more talks yesterday.
Stride has also held talks with several senior players - including Juan Pablo Angel and Thomas Sorensen.
John Barnwell, chief executive of the League Managers' Association, last night confirmed he had been in contact with O'Leary.
He said: "David is one of our members and we were concerned about all the media reports and speculation surrounding him.
"It's fair to say we have been in fact-finding discussions with David to ascertain the truth."
Ellis had privately made it clear at the weekend that he did not want to give O'Leary any severance money.
That means the pay-off package could include the guarantee that the departing manager will not say anything about his old chairman in the future.
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