Soccer-Villa still an attractive club for players, says Garde
Dec 24 (Reuters) - Aston Villa will be able to attract players during the January transfer window despite the prospects of them maintaining their Premier League status for next season looking very dim, manager Remi Garde has said. Villa are rock bottom in the table after picking up just seven points from 17 games and head into Saturday's league clash against West Ham United 10 points away from safety. Garde, who replaced Tim Sherwood last month, has been assured by the club's hierarchy that he will receive funds for players he wants in January. "Even at the bottom of the table Aston Villa is still attractive for some players," Garde told British media. "They know we are not relegated yet and hopefully before the opening of the transfer window our situation will be a little bit better. "Many players are interested in coming to England and joining Villa. It depends on the mentality of the player. As you can imagine some loans would be very helpful for the club but also for the player. "For example if some players want to play in the Euros at the end of the season but are maybe not getting enough games at their clubs, maybe it's a good deal for both." Garde said he does not care how Villa play this weekend as long as they win as he was eager to end the club's woeful 16-game winless streak in the league. "I prefer to win playing well, of course. This is how I see football. But sometimes in this situation, a bad or lucky win will be a very good gift for us," the former Olympique Lyonnais manager said. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
