Fix this: Remi Garde sees task awaiting him as Tottenham hand Aston Villa ninth defeat

Within hours of being hired as Aston Villa manager, Remi Garde witnessed the magnitude of his task on Monday when Tottenham handed his new team a ninth loss in 11 Premier League games to leave them stranded at the bottom.

Tottenham’s 3-1 victory kept the London club on the path to a return to the Champions League and left Villa seemingly headed for the Championship unless Garde can transform the team in the second third of the season.

“It’s not very easy but he must have confidence in his own ability and in the players to want to take the job,” said Kevin MacDonald, who remained in temporary charge as Garde watched from the directors’ box at White Hart Lane. “We caused ourselves a lot of problem by giving the ball away in silly areas.”

Only after Villa pulled one back in the 79th minute – with Jordan Ayew’s strike beating goalkeeper Hugo Lloris thanks to a deflection off Jan Vertonghen – did the team show any of the fighting spirit required for a relegation scrap.

But Villa’s defence had taken only three minutes to be unpicked by a Tottenham team which is now five points behind leaders Manchester City in fifth place after going a 10th league match unbeaten. Mousa Dembele cut in from the left, outmuscled Ciaran Clark and slotted the ball under Brad Guzan at the goalkeeper’s near post.