Aston Villa manager Remi Garde reveals he rejected another Premier League club

The Frenchman was strongly linked with Newcastle, but didn't name the Magpies today

Remi Garde at White Hart Lane (GETTY IMAGES)

New Aston Villa manager Remi Garde has revealed that he previously turned down an offer from another Premier League club, but refused to confirm speculation it was Newcastle United.

The 49-year-old Frenchman was officially unveiled at Villa Park this evening after joining the Midlands side on a three-year contract on Monday following the dismissal of Tim Sherwood last week.

Garde joins Villa with the club four points adrift of safety, bottom of the table and without a win in ten top flight matches since the opening day victory away at Bournemouth. The former Lyon boss was linked with the vacant position at St James' Park in the summer, before the appointment of Steve McClaren, but was coy when quizzed on the topic today.

He said: “Yes I did [receive an offer]. But I said no because the previous one, the serious one, was in a period when I was not ready to start again.

“Regarding the way I left Lyon, I said to the chairman I wanted to stay honest. It was too early for me.”

Villa fell to a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, with Garde watching on from the stands, but the former Arsenal midfielder is upbeat about his chances of avoiding the drop.

“There is a lot of work to do, but I was not disappointed with the players,” he added.

“Football is about scoring goals and not conceding so we need to find a good balance. We started already in the last two training sessions, it is a new start for the team. Each manager has his own view of football. I am going to try to do my best with my views.”