Aston Villa's Remi Garde: No space for weak players
Boss Remi Garde has urged Villa's players to show they have the heart for a relegation scrap.
The Frenchman believes the club's position at the foot of the Premier League table is no place for weak characters.
Villa, who host title-chasing Tottenham on Sunday, are nine points adrift of safety and have lost their last four games.
Yet while Garde concedes the continued blows have affected confidence, he admits players cannot spend time feeling sorry for themselves.
"They suffer, everybody suffers, but we are professional," he said. "We are in a situation where there is no place for weak people or weak characters.
"It's too easy to complain all the time. It's the time to take this difficult moment as an opportunity to show, even though it's difficult, we are still alive and have quality that we have to show on the pitch."
Former Manchester City and FA chairman David Bernstein has been appointed a director, while Villa have also recruited former player and manager Brian Little as an advisor, as new chairman Steve Hollis continues his review of the club's structure.
Garde's own position has come under increasing scrutiny, with Villa having won just two of 18 games since he replaced Tim Sherwood in November.
The Frenchman is poised to review his situation at the end of the campaign but has been involved in some planning for next season.
Meanwhile, with the club facing an increasingly likely relegation, the manager does not believe players are naive enough to think they can just leave for pastures new in the summer.
Villa signed 11 new players last summer, while a number of others are on long-term deals.
And Garde said: "I think they are aware when you have a contract, you are linked to the club.
"You cannot think you are well paid when you are under contract, but when it is a nice time for you you forget the contract.
"Everybody has a contract. Everybody will have to respect that.
"This is a not a discussion I have with my players but they are not coming from another planet. They are aware of football rules."
Asked about whether players had sufficient motivation for the battle ahead, he replied: "Hopefully, yes. I'm not in every brain of the players that I manage. I don't know exactly what is their position.
"Speaking about your reputation is something.
"You have to be strong enough to cope with it and realise when you are coping with a lot of difficulties, it can be an opportunity to show you are strong."
