Leicester City's manager Brian Little was forbidden to speak to Aston Villa by his board, after rumours began circulating that Ellis wanted to hire him. Although maintaining he had not spoken to Ellis about the possibility of taking over at Villa, Little resigned from his post at Leicester even though he was contracted to the club until the end of the 1997–98 season. Three days after his resignation, Ellis hired him as the new Villa manager. Little kept Villa in the Premiership, and then reshaped the squad in the 1995 close-season by selling most of the club's older players and buying several younger ones. Villa won the 1996 League Cup with a win over Leeds United, reached the FA Cup semi-finals, and finished fourth in the Premiership in the 1995–96 season. In February 1998, with Villa standing 15th in the Premiership, and speculation rife that he would be sacked, Little resigned, stating that, "There were certain things going on behind the scenes which were affecting my own managerial position." Ellis came out with a statement directly challenging that it had anything to do with the management at Villa Park. Instead, he suggested it was due to a "variety of pressures" including abuse directed towards Little and his family by irate fans.