Source: PA
Houllier `hurt' after Villa fringe men fail
Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has defended his team selection for the FA Cup clash at Manchester City after coming under fire from supporters.
Houllier insists he is as "hurt" as the 900 fans who made the trip to Eastlands. Fans have vented their anger after Houllier made eight changes for the fifth-round clash which City won 3-0.
It followed on from local rivals Birmingham winning the Carling Cup against Arsenal to give their supporters bragging rights in the city. But Houllier has no regrets about his selection policy as he prepares for Saturday's Barclays Premier League encounter at Bolton.
Houllier said: "We were beaten by a better team than us. With the team that I fielded, first of all it is not just about 11 players and the rest don't exist. I want everyone fresh and hungry. The team that played had three international players up front. One (Emile Heskey) had 62 England caps and played in the last World Cup. Another one (Gabriel Agbonlahor) was in England's last squad against Denmark.
"The other one (Nathan Delfouneso) scored against Blackburn in the FA Cup this season. I had to make changes anyway with Darren Bent cup-tied and Nathan Baker was injured while Robert Pires is 37. But I've always made four or five changes for the cup ties and we are devastated to be out of the cup. I wanted to win there. I trust my players to do the job."
Houllier added: "The fans are like me. They are hurt because we lost in the (Carling Cup) quarter-final against Birmingham when we should have won that game. But Manchester City is different. In the cups you need luck and drawing Man City away was difficult."
