had agreed to become his assistant manager, with Gordon Cowans also taking a role in Houllier's backroom staff. Two days after the Blackburn match, he signed a three-year contract. However, Houllier's start at the club proved to be difficult. The side was hit with injuries to key players Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker and Emile Heskey, and managed just one win in ten Premier League matches. In November 2010, Houllier signed 37-year-old former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires on a free transfer in an attempt to aid the club during its injury crisis. By January 2011, Villa had picked up just 21 points from 20 Premier League matches. The club had also been knocked out of the League Cup the previous month by local rivals Birmingham City. On 5 January, Villa were beaten 1–0 at home by Sunderland; this loss left Villa in 18th position in the league table, the first time they had been in the relegation zone since 2003. During the match, a selection of the home crowd targeted Houllier with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" to vent their frustration at the club's poor run of form. Despite this, Villa directors acted quickly to insist that Houllier's job as manager was safe. In the January transfer Window, Houllier signed Kyle Walker on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to improve Villa's struggling defence. This signing was followed by the arrival of Jean Makoun from Houllier's former club Lyon, before Sunderland's Darren Bent was brought to Villa Park in a deal that broke the club's transfer record. Villa's January transfer window was rounded off with the loan signing of American international midfielder Michael Bradley from Borussia Mönchengladbach. In February 2011, Houllier criticised the commitment of Villa defenders Habib Beye and Stephen Warnock. The pair were forced to train with the club's reserve side and were not selected by the Frenchman, even when the club faced even more injury concerns. After the defeat to Sunderland, Villa underwent a revival, winning five and drawing three of their next nine matches in the league and FA Cup, including defeating Manchester City 1–0 in a run which saw the team climb to 12th. However, Villa were eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester City via a 3–0 away loss in early March. Houllier chose to rest a number of key first-team players, a move that was criticised by fans