Houllier forced to delay Villa debut to cut France ties

MacDonald will stay in charge for two more games but will return to old role as reserve-team coach

(Reuters)

Aston Villa at last unveiled Gérard Houllier as the successor to Martin O'Neill – only for the new manager to reveal that his commitments as technical director to the French Football Federation will prevent him taking charge of a Premier League game until 26 September at the earliest, when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit Villa Park.

Kevin MacDonald, who took over as caretaker manager following O'Neill's untimely resignation last month, will continue to hold the reins when Villa travel to Stoke City on Monday night. However, MacDonald told Houllier that he wants to revert to being reserve-team coach once the former Liverpool manager arrives, while the Frenchman's long-term ally Patrice Bergues has also informed he will not be joining his backroom team for "personal reasons".

Houllier, who will be in France overseeing a meeting of club managers and coaches while his new charges head for the Potteries, admitted that the FFF could, in theory, make him serve three months' notice with them. But he added: "It won't happen. I have a good relationship with them." Instead he hopes to pick the side for the first time when Villa face Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup on 22 September.

This halfway-house situation is unlikely to appease those Villa supporters who have greeted the 63-year-old's Houllier's appointment with a degree of scepticism. O'Neill left on 9 August, which means nearly seven weeks will have elapsed between the Northern Irishman's exit and his replacement finally taking a league fixture. The 49-year-old MacDonald, a reluctant stop-gap who appeared happier in the development of young talent than in the media spotlight, has delivered six points from three games but also presided over Villa's elimination from the Europa League.

Houllier, who has agreed a three-year contract, clearly did his homework on Villa before meeting the press. He reeled off key dates from their history, stretching back to their formation in 1874, and recited names such as Yorke, McGrath, Southgate, Townsend and Cowans as evidence of the sense of tradition and thread of quality that runs through the Midlands club. "It's a club with great pedigree," he said, "and you know at some time it will come back."

It is on his contribution to the club's future, though, rather than his awareness of their past that Villa fans will ultimately judge Houllier. O'Neill led them to three consecutive sixth-placed finishes before quitting, apparently because he and chairman-owner Randy Lerner were at odds over the need to invest in the squad, and the American has talked of the club hitting a "glass ceiling".

Houllier, looking relaxed and healthy, made no promises to smash through it, saying: "Everyone's mentioning Champions League and Europe, but I'd say let's take it one step at a time. Let's have the progress. Let's make the most of the squad we have, with the appetite and desire to win things together.

"The way to success is not an easy walk. We're not going to win the League, but we'll do our best to finish as high as we can. We're in the top four now! I'd be very happy if that continued. But I think the team will improve in the long term. The aim is to get into Europe. We know where we want to go. We also know it will take time."

Why leave a comfortable post in his native country to return to the hurly burly of the English top flight after six years away? "One reason is the chairman and Paul [Faulkner, the chief executive]. I was impressed by their enthusiasm, their dynamism and their honesty. That convinced me. Their ambition also impressed me, too – what they want to bring to the club and to the fans. I'm delighted to share that ambition.

"I had a good job at the French FA and a safe one too. But I'm grateful to both of them for the trust they've placed in me. Their aspirations for this club made me feel I wanted to be part of it. We're all in this together now. Also my passion for English football – and for the Premier League, which in my opinion is the best in the world – has not diminished since my time at Liverpool."