Houllier reveals reasons behind Villa departure

Gerard Houllier says the heart scare from which he nearly died in April forced his departure from Aston Villa earlier this month.

The Frenchman has suffered several heart-related scares since 2001 but his latest, on April 21, forced him to leave Villa assistant manager Gary McAllister in charge for the last five matches of the English Premier League season.

Houllier, 63, said his health concerns had Aston Villa worried they would lose another manager days out from the season beginning after Martin O’Neill resigned prior to the 2010-11 campaign commencing.

“The doctors advised me to not resume before late in August or early in September, so it was a problem,” he wrote in an article in The Mirror.

“The officials were also scared my comeback could be postponed again at that time. I can understand that. The risk exists.”

“They are still traumatised with what happened last year when Martin O’Neill left five days before the start of the season, so they didn’t want such a possibility to happen again.”

Houllier stepped down from his role at Villa Park on Thursday and despite his health worries, he said he loved managing too much to rule out making a return one day.

“Coaching is my job, my life, my passion,” he said.

“Maybe I will go on living in Birmingham for six months or one year to have a good rest. I am in the countryside and very close to hospital and that is the perfect place.”

Houllier enjoyed spells with Liverpool and Lyon before struggling to win over the Aston Villa faithful when he replaced O’Neill. They eventually finished the season in ninth.