New Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has hinted his new assistant could come from a rival club.
Phil Thompson, who worked with Houllier at Liverpool, rejected the offer to go to Villa Park, preferring to stay in his role as a Sky pundit.
Now Patrice Bergues - Houllier's right-hand man at Liverpool and Lyon - has turned down the role. Houllier said: "Patrice won't come for family reasons. We are very close but he phoned me to say he can't come for personal reasons.
"If things get sorted, he will come. He's got problems he must address.
"But there will be somebody else as assistant. Some of the people we are looking at are employed so you have to be careful what we say."
