Remi Garde has told the Daily Mail that he felt Micah Richards was brilliant in Aston Villa’s match against Manchester City last weekend.
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One Villa supporting pundit is having a chat with one of his pals over a pint when he spots an article in Shoot that suggest the new boss wants to lure Belgian starlet Samuel Bastien to Villa Park.
The Frenchman knows the importance of a captain, admitting in the past that he “doesn’t decide who wears the armband by flicking a coin”. We need to gain more confidence. “He is a strong defender, a good guy in the group, an experienced man and he did brilliantly against City”, Garde said.
“I said to the players (when he arrived) that I understand everybody is very sad. everybody is disappointed with the results until now”.
“I am not surprised at all”.
Asked if Richards would remain as captain and continue to lead by example, Garde replied: “Yes of course definitely”.
“The objective is to find the player best at uniting the squad – the man who represents something for the others”.
“Captaincy is not an individual award”.
The Portuguese centre-back, who has been hampered by an ankle injury in recent weeks, has yet to make a single first team appearance for Villa and has only played once for their U21s against Brighton, where he played in defensive midfield.
“A captain has responsibilities and duties”.
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“I have tried in the training sessions we have had to give my message and I think the first game was quite a good start”.
