Aston Villa’s pursuit of Remi Garde has hit a snag over Lyon’s refusal to release the man he wants as his assistant.
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Forward duo Shane Long and Jay Rodriquez remain out with injury, while Saido Mane is suspended following his red card in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
This could mean recalls for Steven Caulker, James Ward-Prowse and Gaston Ramirez – who returned from the exile to set up Mane’s equaliser at Anfield.
Former Lyon manager Remi Garde is the early frontrunner to succeed Tim Sherwood as Aston Villa boss. “We have two games left, so we’ll see what happens when the season is over”.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is set to ring the changes for his side’s Capital One Cup clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
“It’s whether the owners are prepared to give an aspiring young manager an opportunity”.
“You have to be 100 per cent to go on in this tournament how we like”.
And Sherwood’s predecessor Paul Lambert, who is yet to return to management since leaving Villa, believes the club need to get real about their expectations.
Lambert was never given the money Sherwood had to spend in the summer and missed out on a loan deal for then-Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku as well as the chance to sign Wilfried Bony.
“The expectancy level outweighs the realism at the club at the minute”, he told BBC Sport.
“I know that club inside out and I’ve looked at the squad, there’s enough in there to get them out of this position and there’s enough time as well”.
It has seen Villa consider other options including David Moyes and Gus Poyet.
“I work hard and I will continue doing that”.
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In the meantime Kevin MacDonald is in temporary charge in a reprisal of the role he first filled following Martin O’Neill’s 2010 exit.
