Remi Garde says he will stay at Aston Villa if the club is relegated
Saturday 2 January 2016 16:20, UK
Remi Garde insists he will stay at Aston Villa even if the club is relegated from the Premier League this season.
The former Lyon boss penned a three-and-a-half year deal at Villa Park in November, but has been unable to bring about a change in fortunes following a poor start to the campaign.
Villa, who head to fellow strugglers Sunderland on Saturday, are bottom of the table and 11 points from safety thanks to an 18-match winless streak.
Garde has overseen eight of the games during that miserable run, which has put Villa on course to drop out of the top flight for the first time since 1987.
However, the Frenchman says he will stay to guide them out of the Sky Bet Championship if they are relegated and that the club want him to.
"Yes - both answers are yes," he said. "I have got a very good feeling in my mind. In every football club there are some difficulties and problems.
"Of course I thought we would have won earlier, but I knew when you come to a club that has played 11 and lost nine you don't expect to find everything going well. If they are, you do not get the call to come in.
"I knew it would be difficult but now I am full of confidence for what we can achieve in this club."
Chief executive Tom Fox also believes Garde will be at Villa for the long haul after replacing Tim Sherwood in November.
He added: "We are building something special and Remi Garde is a massive part of what we are trying to build."
Villa are four points behind second-bottom Sunderland, having not won since the opening day of the season.
Monday's 2-0 defeat at Norwich saw them lose further ground, but Garde refused to label the Stadium of Light encounter as their last survival hope.
"It's a very important game but this is not the last chance we will have," he said.
