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Steve Hollis insists he is ‘not Randy Lerner’s poodle’ after telling the Aston Villa owner that major changes are needed to end the current demise.

The Villa chairman is leading a major review at the club that has already seen CEO Tom Fox and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt leave this week.

Director of recruitment Paddy Riley could stick around to work under the new regime that includes Mervyn King and David Bernstein as board members as well as Brian Little who now holds an advisory role.

Hollis, meanwhile, will oversee the day-to-day running at Villa Park and has told Lerner: “If you want some poodle who’s just going to be your mouthpiece you’ve got the wrong bloke.”

Hollis met Lerner in the United States prior to his arrival in January and said: “You’re a board member, Randy, and I’ll respect you as a shareholder but that’s the relationship we have.

“It’s brave of him. It’s part of his family assets and he’s handed over the stewardship of that asset to a new board team.

“Randy is passionate about Aston Villa. It’s down to a change in his personal circumstances that he just can’t physically be around the football club.

“But telephones work very well. We talk, meet up, what have you, and he just wants to see the best for Aston Villa.

“If you put yourself into Randy’s position, he’s put a huge amount of his emotional energy into the football club.

“He’s put a huge amount of cash into the club.

“It’s a real brave decision on his part to hand over the running of the club to a board where he’s a board member, but he’s one of five.

Gabby Agbonlahor 10 years on

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“I was very clear with him when I took the chair (about the way forward).”

After the recent changes, Hollis reckons the board is now in a good shape.

“We’ve got a good mix between the commercials through people like me, the heavyweight business through Mervyn and David and also highly respected football people like Mervyn, David and Brian Little.

“It is what we need. The tone at the top in any organisation is what drives what happens when you go through it.”