Albion have told Aston Villa they face a long wait if they do not cough up for Colin Calder-wood.

The Seagulls’ assistant manager could be kicking his heels for the rest of the season, The Argus can reveal, after quitting to join last night’s opponents at the Amex.

Calderwood was placed on gardening leave last Saturday to serve a notice period spanning several months.

Albion, agitated by the Scot’s lack of loyalty in leaving for a Championship rival, are determined Calderwood will leave on their terms and are demanding appropriate compensation from Villa.

Hughton said: “I’m very disappointed and I’m very surprised, particularly at this stage of the season. These things happen in football and you have to be able to move on.

“What the club did here was try very hard to persuade him to stay and that wasn’t enough. He chose to move on and in the end we couldn’t do anything about it.”

Villa boss Steve Bruce said he understood Hughton’s disappointment and added: “We have taken advantage of a situation.

“We’ve got an experienced guy, a good football man who has been there, done it and worn the T-shirt.”

Meanwhile, Paul Trollope remains the front-runner to replace Calderwood.

Appointing the 44-year-old would ensure a smooth transition, as Trollope worked both with Albion boss Chris Hughton and first team coach Paul Nevin at Norwich.

Trollope, also part of Hughton’s backroom team at Birmingham, has a strong promotion pedigree.

The former Wales international midfielder went up to the Premier League in his playing days with Fulham and Derby and guided Bristol Rovers into League One as manager.

Trollope was axed by Cardiff last month after the Welshmen won just two of their opening 12 games.