Remi Garde remains focused at Aston Villa

Boss Remi Garde insists he remains focused on Aston Villa's next game despite a sixth successive defeat appearing to leave him on the brink of being sacked.

Reports yesterday suggested the Frenchman could be axed as early as today, after Saturday's 1-0 reverse at Swansea pushed Villa closer to the Premier League trapdoor.

Chairman Steve Hollis last week confirmed Garde's future would be decided by the review which has already seen chief executive Tom Fox and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt depart the club.

But with Villa's hopes of beating the drop now merely mathematical, he is coming under pressure to make a decision on the manager now.

Villa are 12 points adrift of safety with just seven games to go and have won just twice in the league since Garde replaced Tim Sherwood in November.

The manager's position was weakened when the club failed to make any signings during the January transfer window.

Since then, Garde has cut an increasingly-frustrated figure and is understood to have angered players last month when he publicly questioned their commitment.

Former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson is the early frontrunner to replace him, while Villa have also been linked with an approach for former Blues and current Hull chief Steve Bruce.

Under-21s coach Kevin McDonald is the most likely candidate to take temporary charge until the end of the season.

It's thought Garde could return to former club Lyon as director of football, while another unnamed French club are also understood to be interested in his services.

Federico Fernandez netted the only goal of Saturday's game early in the second half, scoring into an empty net following an error by Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

It was the hosts' only attempt on target during the 90 minutes and, after the game, Garde remained defiant.

He said: "I'm fully focused on the next game against Chelsea. Until mathematically things are impossible, why should we give up?

"We are professional. We showed all the opposites to a team who has given up."