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Pipe Down Pires

Robert Pires piled pressure on Houllier yesterday after revealing that the dressing room was not behind the manager over the weekend. The veteran French midfielder confirmed his frustration at limited chances since arriving at Villa Park, stating that his manager didn’t have confidence in him and frankly neither do I. Since joining, his few appearances have been uninspiring to say the least and age has definitely caught up with the Frenchman who struggles to jog let alone run. Despite this, the former Arsenal legend was recalled to the side in the FA Cup against Sheffield Untied but failed to impress once again. Pires came out in the press for the second time in quick succession to try and shed light on the issues behind the scenes at the club. Although I feel the fans deserve to know some of the background problems once they start affecting results, which they clearly have, it is not the place of any player to do so and the old-hand should keep his mouth shut on the matter. I find that such revelations usually come from players who fail to do their talking on the pitch and therefore feel they deserve the chance to heighten fears of the fans. The 36-year-old also said he feared the club could well be relegated if the harmony at the club doesn’t change. How such comments are supposed to improve the harmony rather than cause detriment to the atmosphere are beyond me and the no longer golden oldie should focus on football rather than media limelight and lay-off a manager who gave him a fantastic last opportunity in the best league in the world! To read Pires comments in full click the link

‘This is not an easy time for me. I’m on the bench, and I can’t help the team as I don’t get to play.

‘Gerard Houllier does not have confidence in me.  I can’t understand why not, and I’m going to have a talk with him about it.

‘I am disappointed, as I want to play and to help my teammates.  He does not even bring me on for the final 20 minutes, and it is frustrating.

‘Relationships between Gerard and certain players are strained and highly-charged.  He has brought in a new culture and a different way of working.’

‘The atmosphere in the dressing-room after the Sunderland game was very heated,’ said the ex-Arsenal midfielder, after Villa’s sixth defeat in their last eight matches, ‘the fans called for Gerard to go straightaway.

‘However, he’s been kept in his job as he clearly has the support of chairman Randy Lerner.

‘I’m afraid that we will be relegated. I’m scared that doubts will set into the players’ minds.’

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