Agbonlahor reluctant to endorse Houllier

19 September 2010 14:00
The jury would appear to be out on new Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier if the remarks of Gabriel Agbonlahor are anything to go by. Agbonlahor appeared reluctant to offer any kind of endorsement of Houllier, who watched Villa's 1-1 draw with Bolton from the directors' box alongside new assistant Gary McAllister. That is despite Houllier's enviable managerial record that includes winning French league titles with Paris St Germain and twice with Lyon, as well as the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup (again twice) with Liverpool. The Frenchman takes over from Kevin MacDonald, who has spent the last six weeks in caretaker charge following the departure of Martin O'Neill. When asked whether Agbonlahor was impressed by Houllier's cv and if he was looking forward to working with him, he said: "Next question." Agbonlahor was pressed for an answer, to which he replied: "If you look at his record at Liverpool, what he has done, what he has won, obviously we're looking forward. It's hard to say anything because Kev (MacDonald) has done so well, but times change and we'll be looking forward to training with the new manager."

Source: PA