McLeish was confirmed as manager at Villa Park on Friday, with his appointment causing controversy among some sections of the club's fans, writes Claire Harmer.
Some supporters have objected to the former Birmingham City manager's arrival due to their intense rivalry with their neighbours
On McLeish's appointment, Dublin told premierleague.com: "The word that comes to mind is brave. Brave on Aston Villa's part for taking a rival manager on, and as for the manager, I think it is one of the bravest things I've ever seen.
"Alex McLeish has broad shoulders. He's a very strong character, and the job of taking on Aston Villa won't be a problem for him at all. What he has to consider, and what he has accepted is that he's going to get a lot of stick from the Villa fans. They are not going to like having to accept their rivals' manager walk on to their turf and taking over their club.
"I feel they have the right to vent their frustrations. The Villa fans have spent a lot of money supporting the team, and they've spent a lot of time in derbies disliking the manager of the Blues, disliking the team, disliking the fans - just for that 90 minutes it's all about winning.
"I think to ask them to accept Mr McLeish with open arms is asking a little bit too much. All I'd ask is that they keep it football related. If he's doing his job wrong, then vent your frustrations. But as soon as Alex gets a few results on the board, I think that might help appease the Villa fans a bit. I wish him all the best, I really do."
Already this summer, Villa, who have had one of the smallest squads in the Barclays Premier League in recent years, have seen goalkeeper Brad Friedel leave for Tottenham Hotspur, while experienced pros such as John Carew, Nigel Reo-Coker and Robert Pires have been released. And Dublin says, it is essential McLeish quickly turns his attention to rebuilding the spine of the team.
"I think it's really important he gets the club stable early on and gets the backbone of the team sorted out. I'm sure he's already got an idea of who he wants to bring in.
"Villa have underachieved since I was there - they got to a few finals when Martin O'Neill was the manager but they still haven't brought home any silverware. And I think the fans are demanding that the club win something very soon. They do have to turn the corner or it's just going to be the same-old season for Villa.
"They've got to get back in the top six, without a doubt. Nothing else is good enough for them. It's going to be hard no doubt about that. Top six or a trophy.
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