Monday 2 November 2015 20:43, UK
Gerard Houllier has backed Remi Garde to be a big success at Aston Villa.
Garde, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Villa Park, worked under former Liverpool boss Houllier when they were at Lyon together.
Garde was in the stands on Monday night when Villa took on Tottenham at White Hart Lane, with caretaker boss Kevin McDonald taking temporary charge.
Garde's first game in charge will be at home against Manchester City next Sunday.
The 49-year-old has never coached outside of France, but he played for Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, and Houllier says he has all the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.
"Remi takes over and his first job is to get the confidence back into the players. I fully expect him to be a success in the Premier League," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"There is already a lot of talk about how he has not managed in England before but the same applies to Jurgen Klopp, Rafa Benitez and even myself and they didn't do too badly. He has spoken to me about Villa. I told him it was a great club with excellent facilities.
"I will be here to assist him if he needs any advice but he will have good people at Villa.
"He speaks the English language and will get his ideas and philosophy across. His philosophy will be attack-minded, he likes to build from the back. "
