Tuesday 3 November 2015 08:15, UK
After watching his team lose 3-1 at Tottenham on Monday Night Football, Remi Garde has seen the scale of the task ahead of him.
But what can he do to turn things around at Aston Villa?
Here we pick out five issues that need to be addressed if Garde is to make a success of his time at Villa...
Remi Garde watched from the stands as Aston Villa were beaten 3-1 at Tottenham.
Stay in the Premier League
Aston Villa have a proud record of being one of only seven sides to be part of every Premier League season, but that run is in jeopardy with the club rooted to the bottom of the table. Garde's first priority must be to keep the team in the top flight and that's a new challenge for a man whose only previous managerial experience was at the other end of the table with Lyon.
Even the Frenchman's Premier League playing experience came with Arsenal, where he was part of their title-winning squad in 1998, but he must now compete against battle-hardened veterans such as Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce for the right to stay in the division. Villa owner Randy Lerner might be planning his exit but he still wants to be selling a club that's in the Premier League.
Organise the defence better
If Villa are going to improve, becoming hard to beat will be crucial. They've lost nine of their 11 Premier League games so far this season and it didn't take long for Garde, sat in the stands at White Hart Lane, to get a close-up glimpse of the problems. Ciaran Clark not only failed to deal with Mousa Dembele for Spurs' opener, but the cover for him from defensive partner Joleon Lescott was non-existent.
"I think Lescott, with his experience, should be fearing something is going to happen," said Jamie Carragher in the Sky Sports studio. The good news for Garde is that the club did not appeal Micah Richards' misconduct charge, so the skipper's one-game suspension was served on Monday and he's back available at the weekend. The bad news is that the opponents on Sunday are Manchester City.
Address the goalscoring issue
There are issues at the other end of the pitch too for the incoming manager to sort out. Only Stoke have scored fewer goals than Aston Villa in this season's Premier League and just getting the ball is proving problematic. Lone striker Gabriel Agbonlahor had only eight touches of the ball in the opening 45 minutes against Tottenham before being substituted.
"I had to check it," said Gary Neville. "It's the lowest touches of anyone in the Premier League this season and two of them were kick-offs. You've got absolutely no chance if you don't get your centre-forward involved with the game." Garde had two of the top-six goalscorers in France in his opening season at Lyon, but replacing Christian Benteke at Villa will surely be rather trickier.
Integrate the French players
Jordan Ayew did come off the bench to score at White Hart Lane and part of Garde's remit will be to get the best from Villa's French-speaking contingent at Bodymoor Heath. Kevin MacDonald's team selection suggested he's not convinced by the new arrivals - Lescott was the only summer signing in his starting line-up - but Garde needs to believe in the talent at the club and be ready to coax it out.
"The reason why Garde has come in is because of the signings and the money spent in the summer," said Carragher. "You'd think he'll help that. Tim Sherwood was saying that they weren't suited to the league, but maybe they'll be more suited to the manager." They're not his signings, but Garde could be judged on the impact of the likes of Ayew, Jordan Amavi, Jordan Veretout and Idrissa Gueye.
Excite supporters amid uncertainty
While survival will be the chief aim for the club's owners, perhaps the broader goal for Garde as far as the fans are concerned should be to excite them once again. Sherwood briefly managed to do that with their run to the final of the FA Cup and the reaction of the success-starved supporters last spring was extraordinary to see.
"I think it's a great club and a big club with a big following and big potential," said Neville. But there are limitations on what can be achieved while that club remains for sale. "You've got a pretty poor spend and the squad has been depleted," added Neville. "He's lost interest." Four points from safety at a club that expects better and all with an owner looking for a way out. Over to you, Remi.
Aston Villa v Man City is live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm on Sunday
