Former Aston Villa hero Thomas Hitzlsperger has given a vote of confidence to new Villa boss Remi Garde.

With Villa enduring a terrible start to the season and lingering at the bottom of the Premier League, Garde was announced as the new manager at Villa Park on Monday.

Speaking to 888Sport Hitzlsperger, who spent five years at Villa Park, said: "Whereas there will be other teams who are currently comfortable who might get dragged into it towards the end. He knows what the mission is. He has to keep them up and it will be a hard fight but I have hope.

"Kevin MacDonald says the team is fit so the base is there. There should be no excuses because in 28 games a lot can happen. If he's a good manager then I'm sure he will get enough points to keep them up."