Houllier urges Villa to be brave

Gerard Houllier has urged his Aston Villa youngsters not too show Manchester United too much respect in Saturday's clash at Villa Park. Villa will be aiming to win a home Premier League clash against the Red Devils for the first time since the opening day of the 1995-96 campaign.They are decimated by injuries to senior players - midfielder Stephen Ireland is the latest doubt after missing training on Friday with a sickness bug - but Houllier can draw on the knowledge that he triumphed five times in Liverpool-United clashes during his time at Anfield.And the Frenchman is hoping the likes of Nathan Delfouneso, Barry Bannan, Mark Albrighton and Ciaran Clark will relish rather than be fazed by the challenge of taking on United.Houllier said: "Sir Alex said to me 'you are more successful against Manchester United than even Bob Paisley.' But they've won more titles!"Villa have not won against United (at home) for a long time. I would say that at some stage it has to stop."It already stopped in a way last year because Villa won at Old Trafford for the first time in 25 encounters or something like that."We hope in front of our fans, we give the best of ourselves and get a result."We've got a good group of players and a good team - whatever the opposition."I regret some of the players are not available because in that sort of game you need some more experience."But I can quite happy to see some young players going through and it would be for them a good experience and a good opportunity for the future."Houllier added: "We must make sure we don't give them too much respect."They are so good, we must not watch them play."One of the problems that could happen is it takes us 20 minutes to get into the game."We have to start immediately from the kick off."Regarding motivation, the game will take care of itself."You need to take the tension out of the young players and must not put pressure on them and just make sure they do what they are good at."I think every Manchester United team plays to win. That is their strength and philosophy."I want to instil that here despite the fact we don't have all our major players but we can do it."Houllier is full of admiration for Ferguson and his achievements during the past two decades at Old Trafford.He said: "He's been a friend for a long time, even before I came to England, and after."We met at coaches get-togethers organised by Andy Roxburgh at UEFA, sometimes on holiday. We've been friends and whatever happens tomorrow we will remain friends."There was a programme made in France about his 24 years at United, about his personality and achievement, the way he has developed young players and the way he managed the teams."He's highly regarded. He's a genius."Houllier believes Villa have deserved a greater tangible reward from recent matches before the mid-week home success over Blackpool.He said: "It was a much needed victory in terms of picking up points particularly after dropping two points in the final minute against Fulham."We've played three away games at Tottenham, Sunderland and Fulham and deserved more than the one point."

Source: Team_Talk