McLeish at Cleveland Browns as Villa fights drop

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP)

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish is visiting his Cleveland Browns counterpart to pick up coaching tips amid mounting fan protests as the club battles against relegation from the Premier League.

American sports tycoon Randy Lerner, who owns both teams, asked McLeish to go to the NFL team to spend two days shadowing coach Pat Shurmur.

Villa says ''Lerner believes there are universal transferrable methods both clubs can employ.''

A 1-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday left Villa three places above the Premier League relegation zone.

Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner says McLeish ''is always looking for any advantage he can get and he felt this was an ideal opportunity to exchange ideas with his American counterparts at the Browns.''