The Seagulls assistant resigned on Thursday, ahead of an expected switch to become Villa’s number two.
It was announced on Thursday evening that Brighton & Hove Albion assistant manager Colin Calderwood has resigned his post, ahead of an expected switch to Aston Villa.
The Telegraph reported earlier in the day that the 51-year-old was being targeted by Villa manager Steve Bruce and technical director Steve Round to become Bruce’s new right-hand man.
Brighton then confirmed that Calderwood had resigned after being placed on gardening leave on Saturday in order to “take up a position elsewhere”.
With former Villa player Calderwood expected to be announced at Villa Park imminently, the announcement will add an extra level of animosity to Friday night’s Championship fixture, which sees the two clubs meet at The AMEX.
Calderwood had been with Brighton since linking up with manager Chris Hughton for a fourth time as coach in February 2015, and together the pair have turned the club into genuine promotion contenders this term.
However, that has not prevented him from leaving for Villa Park, despite the fact that the Birmingham club are 12 places and 13 points behind the Seagulls ahead of Friday night’s meeting.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Calderwood’s decision to resign the day before the game did not go down too well with many of the Brighton faithful.
Here is a selection of some of the more publishable reaction on Twitter.
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