Dwight Yorke has said he wants to succeed Tim Sherwood as the manager of Aston Villa and could "lift the place."
Sherwood was sacked on Sunday after a 2-1 home defeat to Swansea on Saturday saw Villa slump to the foot of the Premier League table.
And Yorke, a former Villa and Manchester United striker, told talkSPORT he could turn the club around despite having no managerial experience.
Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes and former Lyon boss Remi Garde have all been linked with the Villa job -- with sources telling ESPN FC that Burnley boss Sean Dyche is also in the running -- but Yorke said: "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.
"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.
"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."
Yorke said he did not feel his lack of managerial experience was a problem, adding: "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 of this position, and there's enough time.
"Villa need something to really spark them up right now. 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."
Yorke, brought to Villa Park by Graham Taylor, enjoyed a prolific spell for the club and played more than 250 games for them before joining Manchester United, where he played a key role in their 1998-99 Treble success.
Garde, the former Lyon manager, remains the favourite for the job -- but Nigel Pearson has not been approached, with Press Association reporting the former Leicester boss has not spoken to Villa over their vacant position.
Pearson guided Leicester to their Great Escape last season, becoming just the third club in Premier League history to survive the drop after being bottom at Christmas. They won seven of their final nine games to survive but Pearson left the club in the summer and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri after differences with the club's board.
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Garde, who held talks with Newcastle last season, is the front-runner and available after leaving Lyon in 2014 to take a break for personal reasons. He spent three years in charge at the Stade Gerland and won the Coupe de France in 2012, having previously won the Premier League in 1998 as a player with the Gunners.
David Moyes, currently in charge at Real Sociedad, has also been backed but said last week he wanted to stay in Spain.
Villa's under-21 boss Kevin MacDonald has been placed in caretaker charge. He is expected to manage the side for Wednesday's Capital One Cup trip to Southampton and could still possibly be in charge for Monday's league game at Tottenham.
MacDonald was previously caretaker boss in 2010 after Martin O'Neill quit and was brought back to the club by Sherwood in February after a coaching spell at Nottingham Forest.