Martin O'Neill will be offered a contract of up to five years to manage Aston Villa when Randy Lerner takes control of the club within the next few weeks.
The two men, who enjoy lengthy telephone calls every day, have discussed changing the 12-month rolling contract that O'Neill signed on August 4.
No manager in the Premier League will enjoy such backing - contracts of this length are rare at any level of the game - and it is a sign of how highly Lerner rates O'Neill and how much they trust each other.
Lerner wanted O'Neill in place as a prelude to taking over the club and is now set to acquire a controlling interest in Villa, ending the long reign of Doug Ellis and starting an era of significant investment.
Significantly, O'Neill sought assurances from Ellis that the chairman would relinquish control of the club.
Villa made a statement to the London Stock Exchange yesterday morning recommending that shareholders accept the bid from Lerner, with the club valued at £62.6 million.
O'Neill will have money to spend before the transfer window closes on August 31 but he will do most of his squad-rebuilding in January when the window re-opens.
O'Neill seems set to make a bid for Stilian Petrov, the Celtic and Bulgaria international midfield player, who could cost Villa £6m. However, he might have to deal with the departure of Gareth Barry, who could leave Villa to sign for Portsmouth for a fee of £4.5m.
O'Neill is understandably reluctant to talk about his contract, possible players joining Villa or possible players leaving. Four days before the start of the Premiership season, he has enough on his plate.
Lerner is not in the habit of providing large sums of money for quick fixes. He plays a long-term game and would rather Villa grow organically. But the team finished 16th in the Premiership last season and could start the season weaker than they were in May.
Nevertheless, Villa players are queuing up to express joy at the takeover and the expected improvement to the squad.
Mark Delaney, the Wales international right-back, said: "We have tried to keep away from things we cannot control but the fans were upset last season and that did filter down to us.
"Last season we were poor and the manager, David O'Leary, was getting the brunt of it. We were nearly relegated, so we must take some responsibility for that.
"For the last few years we have been in decline, so the worst thing they could have done was leave things as they were. If that had happened, we could have been further down the leagues and, for a club of Aston Villa's size, that could have been catastrophic. So I am pleased that they have recognised that and brought in a fantastic manager and a takeover is now going to happen.
"When David O'Leary came, we finished sixth, then tenth and then 16th. It isn't rocket science to see where we were going.
"There were a combination of things above us that we could not control, so hopefully now as a club and team we can progress in the direction I want to go and the rest of the players too."
Aaron Hughes, who took Delaney's place at right-back last season, said: "We have a new manager and now it looks as though we have a new guy taking over the club.
"You look at football anywhere and when that happens, it injects new life into everyone. Hopefully, that will be the case for us.
"This is a big club, big in history and certainly the potential we have at Aston Villa is big as well. With new management and new ownership, we can do really well.
"The lads have really taken well to Martin. Hopefully, we can turn the corner after a bad season."
Tommy Docherty, Ellis's first managerial appointment in 1968, last night called the impending departure of Ellis "the end of an era".
He said: "I spoke to Doug this year and I asked him then 'have you thought about getting out?. He said that he had done for some time but felt it was not the right opportunity.
Now the situation has changed.
"He might not have spent a lot of money on players but he has never got the club into any debt. Fans can scream and shout for his head but, if it was their money, they would not throw it about either.
"It's the end of an era but the beginning of a new one as Martin O'Neill is an outstanding manager. These could be exciting times, but we'll have to wait and see because, although Lerner has a lot of money, he won't have accumulated it by throwing it away.
"It will be important to see how much support he gives O'Neill in the transfer market. Villa fans will have to bide their time and see how much Lerner is ready to shell out."
