Tim Sherwood is an easy man to dislike; he can come across as brash, arrogant and with a complex that the footballing world owes him a living. He is the antithesis to the intelligent, tactical, almost scientific approach that modern day managers are now expected to adopt.

His record at Tottenham and his subsequent remarks made the former Blackburn captain a figure of fun in some corners. But for all of his tactical shortcomings, the start he has made at Aston Villa has stopped a lot of doubters in their tracks.

When Sherwood took over from Paul Lambert the club was in disarray; without a league win in ten games and in the bottom three with only 12 goals to their name. Make no mistake, Villa seemed primed for the drop and the appointment of the ex-Spurs manager hardly convinced neutrals that this fate would be avoided.

In the thirteen league games he has taken charge of, Villa have won seven and all but steered themselves clear of relegation, add this to the fact that he has led his team to the FA Cup final and his first three months in the Midlands have been near perfect.

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He has taken a team that was bereft of confidence and restricted by their inhibitions and took the shackles off them. It now seems incomprehensible that they looked so certain for the drop; he was the perfect man at the perfect time.

He is derided in some quarters, affectionately known as ‘Tactics Tim’ and there is no denying his approach has its limitations, but he has got Villa back to basics and it is paying dividends.

He is the antidote to the previous two incumbents of this job, both Lambert and Mcleish were considered dour; they viewed the media as their enemy. Sherwood embraces the same press with positivity; he may be a man of soundbites and empty cliché but he is the perfect response to the malaise that the two previous managers had introduced at Villa Park.

Both of the Scots who were in the dugout previous to Sherwood were almost crippled by the extreme expectations that were placed upon them. Aston Villa are an institution of English football and neither of those coaches could deal with the pressure that this forced.

Both were managers that had a small team mentality and Aston Villa fans do not take well to seeing their team play in that manner. Tim Sherwood has the polar opposite mentality, if he closes his eyes he dreams he is sat in the dugout at the Nou Camp or the Bernebau; his arrogance in this aspect is his greatest strength.

His methods may be short term, when motivation alone isn’t enough to inspire his troops Sherwood’s empire may come to a crumbling end. But until then he should be taken seriously, he has completed one of the most impressive turnarounds that this season has witnessed.

He may not be the perfect manager for the football purist, but he was undoubtedly the man Villa needed and deserved. Many, including this writer, have so far been made to eat their words with the Londoner’s exploits.

Like him or not he deserves immense respect. For now.

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