Aston Villa boss Remi Garde won't favour French players
Monday 9 November 2015 23:06, UK
Aston Villa manager Remi Garde insists he will not show any selection favouritism towards the club's French players.
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Garde made six changes for his first game, a 0-0 draw against Manchester City, as he immediately stamped his authority on the team
The manager recalled Jordan Ayew, Jordan Veretout, Jordan Amavi to the starting line-up and gave Charles N'Zogbia a chance from the bench, with the midfielder playing for the first time this season.
The 49-year-old wants unity in the dressing room and has played down the influence of Villa's French imports after their summer arrival and said he would not pick anyone based on nationality.
"Yes but they are not back because they are French or I knew them," said the former France international. "In a fortnight it can be a different team. They did well but the team did well. I think the spirit they are starting to show all together is better than I saw previously.
"I think Charles is an interesting player. He was quite okay in the training sessions and I thought he could be useful for the team. That's it."
Garde is also confident he can ignore the scaremongers who believe Aston Villa are doomed for relegation.
The draw with City ended Villa's run of seven straight defeats, although they remain bottom and five points from the Premier League safety line.
The side were written off under former boss Tim Sherwood but after replacing the ex-Tottenham manager, Garde hopes to have changed perceptions.
He said: "Hopefully yes, but I am not going to fight (opinions) outside the club. It would be useless. My job is concentrate on where the strengths within the club are and to focus on that and try to do it better for the team.
"We will train as much as possible as I need to know my players better, I need to see where we can improve quickly. I think the plan is to work hard because we have no time. We need to get more confidence and I am convinced that to get more confidence it is through the work."
