Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin not writing off Aston Villa
Swansea head coach Francesco Guidolin has warned that Aston Villa can not be taken for granted.
Rock bottom Villa are seemingly heading for relegation having won only three Barclays Premier League games all season.
Swansea would take a huge step towards securing their own safety by completing a season's double at the Liberty Stadium, but Guidolin has stressed the dangers of complacency against Villa opponents who have lost their last five games
"Maybe this is the most important game of the season and we only have to be focused on Saturday," said Guidolin.
"Only the present is important, the match against Aston Villa, not the future.
"It will not be easy. I know this situation because I have many matches behind me and know how difficult a match like this is.
"My team has to play well with concentration and intensity, as if it is a final."
Swansea are eight points clear of the relegation zone with first-team coach Alan Curtis overseeing a mini-revival with wins over Arsenal and Norwich when Guidolin was absent with a chest infection.
Guidolin will be back in the dugout for Villa's visit after missing the last three matches, and he feels Gylfi Sigurdsson holds the key to Swansea completing their rescue act.
The Icelandic playmaker has been Swansea's stand-out player since the turn of the year and has scored scored seven times in his last 11 games.
Asked about Sigurdsson's form, Guidolin joked: "I hope he has a good feeling for me.
"No, we have a good feeling together, but he has confidence and knows he is an important player for us.
"He is a midfielder or number 10 with many qualities.
"I said three or four weeks ago he can score 15 goals in a season because he is very clever and can play in all positions in the last 30 metres."
Aston Villa chairman Steve Hollis has refused to guarantee boss Remi Garde will be at the club next season.
The Frenchman's future is in doubt with Villa on the brink of relegation from the Premier League for the first time in their history.
Hollis and the new Villa board - which includes former Football Association chairman David Bernstein - are conducting a review of the club after their disastrous season.
Chief executive Tom Fox resigned on Thursday just 48 hours after sporting director Hendrik Almstadt left.
Villa are bottom of the table, nine points from safety with eight games left ahead of Saturday's trip to Swansea, and Hollis conceded he cannot issue any promises over Garde's future.
"Let's see where the review goes. Let's not pre-empt anything. Let's give the process the time it needs to make the decisions. They're not going to make knee-jerk decisions," he said.
"Remi is fully engaged. He is spending a lot of time with Mervyn (King) and Brian (Little) and David. I'm leaving it to them to see what works best. They will come up with their recommendations."
More changes are expected at Villa Park as they prepare for their first relegation from the top flight since 1987 with every department under the microscope.
Hollis said: "There's no vendetta going on here. This is about turning over every stone in the club and no-one individual is bigger than the club, including me.
"What we will do as a part of the review is look at everyone's role and see how that fits in as a part of the package that we are going to be putting together than takes this club forward."
But Hollis admitted the previous regime had missed its targets which is why he felt the need for change.
He added to Sky: "You can't say it's gone right. These kind of organisations are about winning football games. We've not been winning football games and hence we have been very open that we're trying to take action and put things right. Hopefully we will return to better times."
Source: PAR
