Dwight Yorke says he wants to be Aston Villa's new manager after the Premier League club parted company with Tim Sherwood on Sunday.
Sherwood left Villa Park having won just once in the league this season, with Villa bottom of the table after Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Swansea City.
Former Lyon coach Remi Garde has emerged as one of the front-runners for the job but former Trinidad and Tobago assistant Yorke says he has what it takes to turn Villa around.
"People are going to say I'm crazy for putting my name in the hat but I've been involved in football for a very long time and, having played for Aston Villa for 10 years, I've looked at the club and seen the direction they're heading in – it’s a dire situation," he told talkSPORT.
"It's a situation that's been ongoing for around five years now. You look at the way Villa have spent their time in the Premier league, avoiding relegation just by the skin of their teeth. They're bottom of the league now and it's a very worrying time for the club.
"You look at their squad and think they should be doing much better than they did under Tim, but the most worrying thing is that their main rivals in the table, the likes of Leicester, West Brom and Stoke, they all have better squads and for me that is absolutely crazy!
"Aston Villa are supposed to be the biggest club in the Midlands, but they're nowhere near. They think they are a big club but the reality is that Villa, certainly in the last five or six years, have been deteriorating rapidly and that’s why they're at the bottom of the table.
"People will say I don't have any experience, but we've seen people with experience go in there and struggle to do a job. I know that club inside out and I've looked at the squad, there's enough in there to get them out in this position and there's enough time as well.
"It's whether the owners are prepared to give an aspiring young manager an opportunity."
Former Trinidad and Tobago international Yorke has yet to coach at club level while the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Nigel Pearson and David Moyes have been touted as replacements for Sherwood.
Yorke continued: "You look at the managers available now, it's a merry-go-round. In the 30 years I've been involved in football it's been the same people getting job after job, so why are young managers doing all their coaching badges but not getting that opportunity?
"There are young people ready to break into management and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't put my name in the hat.
"Villa need something to really spark them up right now. I spent 10 years there, I had a fantastic relationship with the fans there and I just feel when I look around at the managers up for grabs at the moment that they need something a bit more exciting to come in and really lift the place."
