Football: Tom Fox resigns as Aston Villa chief executive

Fox has resigned as chief executive of relegation-threatened Aston Villa with immediate effect. PHOTO: EPA

LONDON (REUTERS) - American Tom Fox has resigned as chief executive of relegation-threatened Aston Villa with immediate effect, the Premier League club said in a statement on Thursday.

Fox was the right-hand man of the club's US owner Randy Lerner, who put Villa up for sale last May but has yet to find a buyer.

Villa are last in the 20-team league, eight points behind 19th-placed Newcastle United.

"Regarding my resignation, the owner made it very clear last summer that he and I would seek to recruit a board that would put the club in a stronger position in the event that a sale didn't happen," Fox said.

"As the board has taken shape, however, it has become clear that my role also has changed. While I am supportive of where the board is trying to take the club, it is my feeling that given the changes they are making, it makes sense for me to seek another challenge."

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