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Under-fire manager has support of Lerner and Faulkner
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has been given the full backing of club owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner.
The Frenchman angered some supporters with his flippant comments in the wake of their 3-0 defeat at the hands of his former club Liverpool at Anfield on Monday.
That reverse was their fourth in succession and the Midlands outfit are now only two points above the bottom three ahead of Saturday's derby date with West Brom.
Houllier'scomments earlier in the week earned a rebuke from Villa director General Charles Krulak, but Faulkner insists the manager has his full support - and that of Lerner.
He said: "From my point of view, and from Randy's, it's 'as you were'. It's not even a vote of confidence because nothing has changed for us.
"We knew it was going to be hard and we are on a bad run. But the answer is to work even harder - and Gerard is doing that.
Massive game
"Of course, West Brom is a massive game, it's a local derby, but everyone who cares for Villa should stick together.
"Our stance has been, ever since Randy took charge of the club in 2006, to build for the long term.
"Continuity always pays off. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Gerard's great to work with.
"It's only three league games ago when we were eighth and Sir Alex said we should have been 6-0 up against his team before drawing 2-2."
Faulkner insisted: "Nothing has changed here. It's a long-term project. We always knew it was going to be difficult.
"The manager arrived in September and has been trying to make changes in the way things are done and make changes in the playing style.
Horrendous
"Without wishing to make excuses, the injury list has been horrendous. Thankfully, players are starting to come back now.
"Fans should demand and expect total commitment from a manager and Gerard is fully focused on Aston Villa.
"He is incredibly hard-working and doing everything he can to improve the team's fortunes."
And Faulkner is adamant Villa will back Houllier in the January transfer window.
He said: "We'll give him the support and the resources to do his job.
"But January has never been the ideal time to make extensive recruitment. If opportunities present themselves, then we will look to improve the squad."