Houllier calls for more guts from Villa youngsters

Gerard Houllier claims his young Aston Villa side need to show more character after admitting he is worried by their slide.

Villa are just three points above the drop zone after winning just one of their last eight games and Houllier felt they were "too shy" against Blackburn.

"I do look at the table and of course I am worried," said the Villa manager. "Football is about results.

"The performance against Manchester United last week needs to be repeated if you are step up a level and I thought we were too shy at the beginning of the game.

"It was a different challenge for us physically and mentally and today we weren't at it. We have to accept that and learn the lesson from this game.

"As a team we have to show more personality and character whatever the age of our players."