Houllier wants Reo-Coker to stay

Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier will hold talks with Nigel Reo-Coker at the end of the month in a bid to keep the midfielder at Villa Park.

Reo-Coker has made over 100 appearances for Villa since joining from West Ham United in 2007.

The former England Under-21 captain fell out of favour with former Villa boss Martin O’Neill and was thought to have no future at the West Midlands club beyond this season, when his contract expires.

But he has found himself a regular starter under Houllier, who made Reo-Coker stand-in captain after regular Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov was sidelined through injury.

Now, the French boss has hinted a new deal could soon be on the table.

“Nigel will play probably against Blackpool (on Saturday) and he is my player until the end of the season,” Houllier said.

“Funnily enough, he is improving but there is not the situation where there is 11 players and the rest are not involved.”

“To me when you have a big squad they should be united. You don’t have sulkers and moaners.”

“This is very important and Nigel plays a part, not only in the dressing room, but every time he steps on the field.”

“I think Nigel’s performances from the beginning of the season compared with now have been different.”

“He is more calm and more composed and does things simple. He is a ball winner and gets forward when he can.”

“I like his discipline, I like his commitment and his aggression. I said to him and to his agent that we will have an assessment from the end of February to the beginning of March.”

“But I know also there are clubs after him because he is a free agent.”