Aston Villa have officially confirmed the appointment of former Lyon coach Remi Garde as their new manager.
The Frenchman has put pen to paper on a contract to keep him at Villa Park until the summer of 2019 and succeeds Tim Sherwood in the hot seat at the club.
Garde, whose only managerial experience is a spell in charge of Lyon in his homeland, takes over a side sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table, but he is not daunted by the challenge.
Indeed, Garde says he is happy with the ambitions at Villa Park and is honoured to have taken over at the former European champions, though he appreciates the size of the challenge ahead of him.
"It is an unbelievable honour to be the manager of such an illustrious football club", he told the club's official site.
relatedNewsStory
"I've had extremely positive meetings with both the owner, Randy Lerner, and Chief Executive Tom Fox. They have ambitious plans for the Club and I'm excited that they have turned to me to help them realise them.
"Obviously we have a difficult task in front of us, but I'm looking forward to the challenge with the support of everyone who loves Aston Villa."
Garde is no stranger to English football, having had a spell in his playing career at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.
Aston Villa are next in action this evening, away at Tottenham Hotspur.
