Aston Villa "would be foolish" not to consider Mick McCarthy as a contender to fill the managerial vacancy, according to Mark Venus.
Current Ipswich Town boss McCarthy is the third favourite with the bookmakers behind Nigel Pearson and David Moyes to take charge of the Premier League strugglers following Tuesday's departure of Remi Garde.
Discussing the options, ex-Ipswich defender Venus has insisted that McCarthy's history of stabilising stricken clubs on a shoestring budget should see him come under consideration by the Villa board.
"A club in the position of Aston Villa, 11 points adrift and heading for the Championship, they would be foolish not to consider someone with Mick's CV," the East Anglian Daily Times quotes Venus as saying.
"Just look at what he has done with all the clubs he has been in charge of - Sunderland, Wolves and now Ipswich. He always stabilises clubs and then improves them. It's often done while selling players and working within a budget.
"Everyone knows what a fantastic job he has done at Ipswich, turning them around. I'm not saying he will be offered the job or will want it, but I'm just saying it's no surprise his name is being mentioned because his reputation within the game is superb."
McCarthy, 57, is currently contracted to Ipswich until the summer of 2018.
