Villa need at least 10 wins, says manager Garde

Garde has shown Villa’s players the league table from a year ago to illustrate how Leicester staged a remarkable comeback from relegation.

Garde, who replaced Tim Sherwood last month, has been assured by the club’s hierarchy that he will receive funds for players he wants in January. Tom Cleverley scored in his third consecutive game to give the Villans a 1-0 win, in what proved to be his last goal for the club before his loan ended. Only West Brom had achieved the feat prior to those escapes back in 2004-05.

Garde wants Villa to win 10 of their remaining 21 games.

‘I am fully aware that football has changed, individual behaviour can be very helpful for the team.

“We will need to be very balanced between attacking and defending”, manager Remi Garde told the club’s official website.

Villa took four points from West Ham last season, including a 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture May 9. It was a match that lacked quality and somewhat predictably ended goalless, badly missing the invention that would have been provided by somebody such as Dimitri Payet or Manuel Lanzini.

Captain Micah Richards is set to miss out again against West Ham as he continues to struggle with a knee injury.

Bilic said: “It’s a fearless decision but it’s the Premier League and a chance to manage a massive club like Aston Villa”. It’s about confidence for them now. I am not expecting anything easier than Swansea. “Starting from beginning we need more confidence, more sparks”.

The Hammers have been unable to win in their last seven games, losing twice during that period, but Villa have been far worse and have not won since opening day.

When Bournemouth come to visit in April they’ll bring the division’s most porous defence, which has conceded once for every 5.6 shots faced on average.

Slaven Bilic’s side have, themselves, failed to win any of their last seven matches, but can be backed at 7/4 (2.75) with William Hill to bounce back with victory at Villa Park.