Houllier hoping Holloway stays put
Holloway threatened to quit the Seasiders if the Premier League fined him for fielding a much-changed line-up against Villa earlier in the campaign and Blackpool were hit with a £25,000 fine on Thursday.
Houllier is still unhappy about Holloway’s comments over his attempt to sign Adam — Villa had two bids rejected — but hopes Holloway will stay at Bloomfield Road.
He said: “I think there were double standards (over Adam) and I repeat that.
“He was not fair to me because I never spoke to Charlie Adam or his agent. We went straight to the club. We did things right, twice.
“But I hope his chairman (Karl Oyston) will hold him back (from quitting).
“Despite what happened, he is a good manager, he has done a good job.
“He can behave stupidly and still be a good manager. I think he has done a fantastic job and I like the way his team play.”
Villa entertain Blackburn in the FA Cup today with Houllier admitting he is still hurt by their Carling Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of local rivals Birmingham, who have reached the final.
He said: “I am still very disappointed with our defeat against Birmingham in the Carling Cup. “I haven’t taken it in and when I see where Birmingham are, in the final — if we had been a bit more clever, we should have at least played in the semi-finals.”
Houllier is hoping Villa can build on back-to-back league wins over Manchester City and Wigan as they look to emulate their Carling Cup win over Rovers in his first match in charge of the midlands club.
He said: “The cup is very important, first of all to keep the momentum, and to keep on an unbeaten run.
“We are better, stronger physically and mentally. There was a time when we would concede goals at the end of games.
“Now we don’t concede goals but we can also score and we can also hold onto a result and that is important.”
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