Tuesday 12 January 2016 11:38, UK
Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner is expected to make a statement this week following crisis talks in America with key decision-makers at the club.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's game with Crystal Palace, manager Remi Garde called on the board to break their silence, rather than leaving him as the sole public voice of the club.
And the Villa fans will be eager to hear from Lerner, having watched their team endure a terrible campaign so far which has left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, seven points adrift of 19th-placed Sunderland.
A 'Lerner out' banner was visible among the away support on Saturday at Wycombe, where Villa laboured to a 1-1 FA Cup draw with the League Two side.
Chief executive Tom Fox and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt subsequently flew to New York to hold talks with the American owner on Monday.
And Garde, who insists he is going nowhere, is hoping the discussions will result in financial backing for an overhaul of the squad and a statement addressing the issues which pre-date his tenure.
Asked what he hoped would come from the meeting, he said: "The support that I need to make things better for the team.
"This is something I asked from them (Lerner and Fox) a fortnight ago, or something like that.
"Not to take the pressure off me, if I didn't want the pressure I wouldn't have this job. At some point it is important that the Aston Villa voice for now is not only mine.
"I knew Villa from inside for only 10 weeks now. At some point I cannot explain and am not in the position to judge what happened before and whether it was right or wrong, because I wasn't here.
"I don't have all the answers to the questions about Villa."
Garde is eager to re-shape his squad but accepts that doing so before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month will be tricky.
"I need to improve the atmosphere at the club," he said.
"Some players, for many reasons, are not any more involved in this football club and this is not a very healthy situation.
"But January is not the best time to do things, it is very difficult for many reasons."
