Ray Wilkins is expected to be appointed as Aston Villa's assistant manager within the next few days. 

The Ex-Chelsea assistant manager has accepted an offer from Sherwood to come in as assistant manager.

The 58-year-old has been out of football in England since leaving Fulham last February but is understood to be excited by the opportunity to link up with Sherwood, at Villa Park.

His most successful work came at Chelsea where he worked under  Gianluca Vialli, Carlo Ancelotti, and also Guus Hiddink during the Dutchman's spell at Stamford Bridge in 2009.

Last year Wilkins announced he was suffering from the same condition as ex-Manchester United midfielder, Darren Fletcher, ulcerative colitis and that he had previously visited Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

He also was forced to deny claims that he had been drunk at a Fulham game, saying that he had failed to reappear for the second half of the match due to his ulcerative colitis.

Sherwood will retain Kevin MacDonald, who was working as his No. 2 after the imminent appointment. But is expected to be given a new role.

Wilkins told Sky Sports: "Tim is similar to me in that he wants to win and is pretty bubbly. As soon as I spoke to him it seemed to click.

I've been very fortunate over my coaching career to be involved with lots of managers of a very high level. Hopefully, I can give the lads at Villa that experience."

Influence

Ray Wilkins is renowned as one of the best British coaches there is. His endless amounts of experience on the sideline and on the pitch is seen as vital as Tim Sherwood looks to rebuild a Villa side that has been threatened by relegation for far too long. 

Aston Villa need more influential figures in their coaching staff and Wilkins fits the bill.

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About the author
Matthew Lynch
Matt has been writing for over two years for a wealth of sites such as www.avillafan.com and www.the-newshub.com. He will be on Heart and Capital FM from July. He will be undertaking a degree in Broadcast Journalism at Nottingham Trent University, come September.