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Aston Villa’s decline was brought about by the sale of Christian Benteke - according to former boss Tim Sherwood.

Sherwood was speaking on Soccer AM and told how the sale of Benteke left a gap that Villa couldn’t fill.

He stated: “As a football manager you have an identity and you have to tailor that to the players that you have.

“You have to have a look at what you have got, for example at Aston Villa I had a look at the squad and decided what we had to do to win football matches.

“We had a guy called Christian Benteke who was in the mould of Carlton Cole, he loves crosses and was a prolific, Premier League goalscorer.

“We needed to get the ball wide and get crosses into the box, we did that and he scored 13 in 11 games and kept us in the Premier League.

“Unfortunately we lost him the next season and we couldn’t find the goals and it was really hard to put them back in the side.

Sherwood is looking for an immediate return to football having recently left Swindon Town following their relegation to League Two.

Sherwood, 48, took on a Director of Football role at the County Ground last season to help Swindon chairman, and long-time pal, Lee Power as the club battled the drop from League One.

Reflecting on his time at Swindon, Sherwood told the Birmingham Mail: “I wasn’t there to be perfectly honest, I was helping my friend out.

Have a listen to our recent Tim Sherwood podcast

“When you go and try and put a few deals together you have to have a title. That Director of Football role is different at every football club you go to so it depends how the club want to implement it.

“For me, it was just to go and help out a friend who I’ve known for 25 years and try and put a few deals together for his football club. It’s a good club and I hope they bounce back.”

Sherwood’s short tenure as Villa boss was certainly eventful. He ensured enough points were accumulated to remain in the Premier League during his first season, while also guiding the club to the FA Cup final.

But a string of high profile summer departures saw the claret and blues suffer a nightmare start to the 2015/16 campaign and Sherwood was gone after just 10 league games.

And now, 20 months on from his Villa sacking, Sherwood is determined to hop back on the coaching ladder, but he is undecided as to whether he wants the cut and thrust of management or the chance to nurture young hopefuls.

“I’m looking to get back into football, whether that is managing or on the development side. I’ve had a lot of success developing young players, not only into the Premier League but also the England national team.”

Have a listen to this week's podcast