Houllier confident of top-flight survival

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier insists his relegation-threatened side can find form and retain their Premier League status.

Fans were livid after Villa lost 1-0 at home to local rivals Wolves last time out which leaves them just one point above the bottom three.

Houllier thinks his players need to relax more when they play at Everton on Saturday.

He said: “We can play much better than we did against Wolves and it has been a tough time.”

“I felt we weren’t relaxed enough. In the coming games we need to be more relaxed because you need fluency.”

“We didn’t seem to have the passing and the movement in that Wolves match.”

“That’s why it created a frustrating game really.”

“Even when you are 1-0 down at home you should be able to come back into the game and win it. We had a few chances but not enough.”

Houllier said preparations for the trip to Goodison Park has been disrupted by last week’s international break.

“Now, as we look forward to Everton some of the players have gone on international duty – half are here and half are away – but we will get back together and obviously we know where the land lies.”

“We don’t lie to each other. We know how we stand and the difficulty of the task but the best way is to focus on our game and the results will take care of themselves.”

“We have ability. We’ve got the strength. We’re just going through a hard time.”

Villa will be without defenders Richard Dunne (shoulder) and Luke Young (knee).