Villa’s little run includes two victories, one in the league and the other eliminating League Two Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup, and their next test is at home to Manchester City in the fourth round of the cup.
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Joleon Lescott and Jores Okore were Garde’s central defensive pairing for those games and the Frenchman feels he might have to be fair to them by sticking with them for the trip to local rivals West Brom on Saturday.
To try to make sense of any of the transfer business that Aston Villa Football Club does would take a lot of time and effort, with players like Marc Albrighton being allowed to walk away from the club for nothing in recent years.
In fairness to the forward, both Tim Sherwood and Rémi Garde have played him sparingly this season.
“I know the last three Premier League games in terms of spirit that I can rely on these players”, he said.
James Morrison is out for a lengthy period for West Brom, who have Saido Berahino back following illness. Maybe. I talked with the referee and he told me he didn’t see it like that.
West Brom seem set for another season of mid-table mediocrity, with Tony Pulis’ men now too far away from the drop zone to be threatened, while also far enough away from the top of the table to have hope of realistically challenging for Europe.
Pulis revealed the Venezuelan, signed from Russian club Zenit St Petersburg over the summer, may now be granted a short-term break as he is struggling to adjust to the Premier League’s intensity.
He added: “Salomon looked exhausted”. It’s so hard and it’s so tough. He needs this season to get used to it. He’s got real quality and real talent, and his running stats are fantastic.
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Pulis added: “When things are not going well, what you need your team to do is work and work and work and that’s what they’ve done. He might just need a couple of weeks off”.
