Former Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier admits chatting extensively with Remi Garde about the job.

Garde is set to be officially confirmed as Tim Sherwood's successor in the claret and blue hotseat today.

Houllier told the Telegraph: “He has spoken to me about Villa many times over the past week and I told him it was a great club with excellent facilities, a very good fanbase and they have a chairman that backs you.

“I will be here to assist him if he needs any advice but he will have good people at Villa that can help him. He is not somebody who has no experience, he speaks the English language and will get his ideas and philosophy across.

“His philosophy will be attack-minded, he likes to build his teams from the back."