Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner has insisted that the club will not "buckle under pressure and criticism" following the appointment of new manager Remi Garde.
The former Lyon boss was officially named as Tim Sherwood's successor today on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Lerner, who has had the club up for sale since the summer of 2014, has conceded that they are "way behind" as they currently reside at the bottom of the Premier League table after 10 games.
"Remi came with ideas, honesty, humour and a steely sense of what it will take for Aston Villa to be what it is meant to be - hard working, tireless, creative and unwilling to concede," Lerner told the club's official website.
"Nobody at Villa can deny that we are way behind. We recruited aggressively this past summer and it is our responsibility to now harvest this talent rather than buckle under pressure and criticism - we are better than that. On behalf of the board we wish Remi every success."
Garde is expected to be in the stands for tonight's match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
