Aston Villa name Remi Garde as manager

Aston Villa have appointed Remi Garde as their new manager on a three-and-a-half year contract ahead of tonight's trip to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 49-year-old Frenchman is back in management after just over a season out of the game, after three years in charge at Lyon in his homeland.

Garde led the club to the Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions trophies, as well as the quarter-finals of the Europa League, in his first top job.

The former France midfielder knows England, having played for Arsenal between 1996 and 1999, and returns to our shores to take over from the sacked Tim Sherwood.

He said: "It's an unbelievable honour to be the manager of such an illustrious football club.

"I've had extremely positive meetings with both the owner, Randy Lerner, and chief executive Tom Fox.

"They have ambitious plans for the club and I'm excited that they have turned to me to help them realise them.

"Obviously, we have a difficult task in front of us, but I'm looking forward to the challenge with the support of everyone who loves Aston Villa."

Owner Randy Lerner admits Villa, who are bottom of the Premier League, are "way behind" but is backing Garde to get the best out of the players, particularly those recruited from France in the summer.

He said: "Remi came with ideas, honesty, humour and a steely sense of what it will take for Aston Villa to be what it is meant to be - hard working, tireless, creative and unwilling to concede.

"Nobody at Villa can deny that we are way behind. We recruited aggressively this past summer and it's our responsibility to now harvest this talent.

"We can't buckle under pressure and criticism - we are better than that. On behalf of the board, we wish Remi every success."

Chief executive Tom Fox added: "For the past year, we have been working purposefully to transform the club, in order to build a successful organisation that can compete and succeed in the Premier League.

"Finding a manager who shares and believes in our vision and has the ability to bring it to life through performances on the pitch is essential.

"We are confident that Remi is the manager who can deliver the best from the current squad and help set the club up for future success."