Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner is confident appointing Alex McLeish as new manager without having to pay over the odds to Birmingham City in compensation.
The Sun says Lerner is in no mood to be put off by threats from Birmingham chiefs or emotive protests from fans. And things got better by the minute as their fiery neighbours backtracked on trying to block any deal.
Originally, acting Brum chairman Peter Pannu wrote a furious statement posted on the Birmingham website late on Tuesday night in response to Villa's announcement that McLeish was to be interviewed.
The rattled Blues chief accused Villa of 'tapping up' but now knows he will have to provide hard proof to win that battle.
The reality now is that their war is with McLeish. He claims constructive dismissal while they want compensation because he walked out with a £5.4million exit clause in his contract.
Lawyers from both sides are now talking and a compromise is likely to be reached.
