No surprise if Houllier is regretting his return to the firing line

Who could blame Gerard Houllier for starting the New Year with a sense of dread as he grits his teeth in Britain's harshest winter in more than 30 years and tries to keep Aston Villa clear of the relegation zone?

Houllier's Villa side have lost six of their last seven matches to sit in 15th position, just a point outside the bottom three. The Villains travel to London to face champions Chelsea tomorrow, knowing another defeat will almost certainly send them sliding into the relegation zone.

Four months ago, Houllier could spend his weekends in the cosy cafes of his adopted hometown of Paris, enjoying pain au chocolat and caf?au lait in a comparatively cushy job as technical director of Football Federation France (FFF). Dealing with the eccentricities of former national coach Raymond Domenech was admittedly one of the role's downsides.

But now the former Liverpool manager has to deal with a mini dressing-room revolt and a growing number of fans chanting for his head in the wake of a pitiful 4-0 defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday night. Fresh in the supporters' minds are three successive top-six finishes achieved by Houllier's popular predecessor, Martin O'Neill, and last season's inspired run to the League Cup final.

The opening of the January transfer window couldn't have come any quicker for Houllier, who wants to rejuvenate his unhappy squad. But one wonders if his long-term planning will survive the short-term risk with more than half a dozen senior players, including John Carew, Brad Friedel, Ashley Young and Richard Dunne, reportedly on their way out of Villa Park.

Since American owner Randy Lerner took over in September 2006, only Manchester City have splashed more on new players with the Birmingham club forking out around GBP140 million (HK$1.67 billion). But in 2010, the spending dried up to such an extent that O'Neill walked out in August, just five days before the start of the season with the pending sale of England midfielder James Milner to Manchester City.

Now as they prepare for a massive January clearance to slash a GBP70 million wage bill, Villa could be up to GBP35 million out of pocket as they let players go at discount prices. The new coach will be allowed to bring in new personnel, but he will probably have to look for bargain buys, with Lerner noticeably tightening his belt.