Aston Villa do not expect to announce a managerial replacement for Rémi Garde before the end of the week. The assistant coach Eric Black will attend tomorrow’s press conference before taking training at Bodymoor.

The former Lyon manager Garde left by mutual consent on Tuesday after five months in the job, with Villa 12 points from safety at the foot of the Premier League with seven games remaining. The first of those is Saturday’s early kick-off at home against Chelsea, for which Black will remain in charge.

Villa are believed to want a British manager with Premier League experience but are realistic about the attractiveness of their vacancy when relegation is a virtual certainty.

Nigel Pearson and David Moyes are in the frame and available, though the club recognise an incoming manager’s preference may be to take over in summer, even if that means picking up the pieces and starting afresh in the Championship.

Other available candidates include Garry Monk and Brendan Rodgers, though Hull’s Steve Bruce and Mark Warburton of Rangers are also among names being quoted by bookmakers. Villa accept that anyone presently in charge of a club would be unapproachable until the close season in any case, and privately seem ready to admit it might be too late to appoint a manager on the basis of availability and expect him to guide the club to safety.