O'Leary driven Doolally by Ellis

Once known as Deadly Doug, the man famous for ruining any hope the club had of signing Brazil star Juninho because he persisted in calling him Junior during an interview has now acquired a new nickname with certain members of the Villa dressing room. Doolally Doug is how they like to refer to him these days.

The club's supporters have grown increasingly impatient with their elderly chairman, and the 11 points they have taken from their 12 Premiership matches this season have hardly eased their anxiety. A demonstration is being planned for their next home game, when they will call for him to sell his 38.4 per cent shareholding. The threat of Leeds stepping in to snatch O'Leary back will only strengthen their resolve.

Villa do seem to be a club in turmoil, even if O'Leary remains steadfast in his refusal to criticise either his players or employers. He says only this: that he needs cash if the ambition he shares with the fans is to be realised. 'I want to take the club forward and be successful,' he said this week. 'The potential here is fantastic, but improvement needs investment.'

Part of the problem could be the rumoured political struggle between Ellis and Mark Ansell, the club's deputy chief executive and finance director. According to sources, Ellis is resisting Ansell's attempts to secure more power.

In the meantime, O'Leary's desire to see the club prosper - as Leeds did when he was in charge - goes unsatisfied. He wanted Paul Robinson, the Leeds and England goalkeeper, only to be told his relatively modest wage demands of £30,000 a week were too much.

It was a similar situation with Blackburn's Brett Emerton and Kevin Phillips, who eventually joined Southampton from Sunderland, and when Chelsea made Mikael Forssell available on loan, Ellis again blocked the move. Much to the disgruntlement of O'Leary and the Villa supporters, Birmingham City seized the opportunity to sign the outstanding young striker.

This is not how the job was sold to O'Leary when he decided to return to football with a club he sincerely believed he could guide to the kind of success he once enjoyed at Elland Road. A Champions League semifinal, a chance to contest for the title with the Premiership elite.

Now, however, the threat of relegation plays on O'Leary's mind, as does how he will continue to fight against the odds when seven players left Villa Park last summer and a further six could be out of contract at the close of the current campaign.

Merely maintaining Villa's Premiership status this season is unlikely to give O'Leary any great pleasure. On the contrary, narrowly avoiding relegation would be seen as failure.

The same, however, could not be said should he ever be presented with the opportunity to perform a similar feat at his former club.