Garde has ´ideas´ over Villa signings

Remi Garde has “ideas” of who he wants to sign in January as he seeks to bolster Aston Villa’s hopes of Premier League survival.

Villa are five points adrift of Sunderland at the bottom of the table and 10 points off safety, with Garde yet to pick up a win since being appointed as Tim Sherwood’s replacement in November.

Chief executive Tom Fox has confirmed funds will be made available for Garde and the former Lyon boss says transfer plans are afoot.

“In terms of bringing players in in January it is not as easy as that,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“I have some ideas. We need to be in a better situation than the one we’re in today.”

Jordan Ayew’s stunning second-half strike rescued a 1-1 draw for Villa against fellow strugglers Newcastle United on Saturday, with Garde’s men perhaps unfortunate not to pick up maximum points at St James’ Park.

Villa take on West Ham on Boxing Day and Garde says his players have taken confidence from an unpredictable Premier League season that sees Leicester City top the table while AFC Bournemouth have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United in recent weeks.

“We have taken a lot of heart from the performance at Newcastle,” Garde continued. “I was very happy with the reaction in the second half, I was not very happy with the first 35 minutes. I know where we need to improve.

“I feel that when you are low on confidence like where we are currently, it’s difficult to take the game to the opposition and express yourself. 

“When we’re in a situation when we have nothing to lose in a game, we thrive on that. Starting from the beginning is difficult.

“But Leicester were in a similar position to us last season. I must look at how and why they’ve done that. I’m working on that. I still believe we can do it.

“It’s a season with strange results. If you look at Bournemouth’s recent results against some of the big teams we can take heart from that.

“It’s hard to say how many points we’ll need. I think 10 victories. That might not be enough but we must keep working hard.”