Here is the full article. It would make a suitable text for an English A-Level question: "The following is an apology by a football manager following a totally inept display by his team. Analyse, and in your own words, write an account of what actually happened."
Gerard Houllier admitted he was extremely frustrated by Villa's defeat at the hands of Sunderland - but insists his players will maintain their belief as they battle to get out of the bottom three.The manager saw the golden chance and dismissal of Emile Heskey as the major turning points in the 1-0 set-back although he was pleased with the team's efforts to get back into the game.
He said: "We had an opportunity to step up in the league."I think there were two moments which were extremely crucial. One was when Emile unfortunately missed a sitter and put it on the bar. The second was when he was sent off. His dismissal was a key moment in the game when the two teams were very close to each other. We had chances in the first half, they had a couple of chances early in the second half. But we were getting back into the game and Emile was playing a very good game.
"It [the dismissal] was a shame because I was just about to make some changes. With Emile leaving, we had to put Gabby up front. I thought we were getting a bit better. I very much take into account the players reacted. They were a bit lucky because for the goal the ball went through practically four or five players.
"But I liked the reaction of the players - I liked their efforts - they put everything into getting back. In the end, I think they didn't deserve to lose. At the moment it's difficult. I must say we need just to keep our chins up and keep going. What we need at the moment is to keep the morale, keep the confidence and make sure the next game we can limit the damage because we have some big, big games coming up."
Houllier praised the vocal support of the fans in urging the team on after they had been reduced to 10 men and Phil Bardsley had fired the visitors ahead.
He added: "They were fantastic. But I understand their frustration. The players can't complain about the fans because every time we were under the cosh or every time we were looking to get back into the game, they were pushing and supporting the team.
"The supporters were good. For them, I would have loved to equalise just for them because they were practically sucking us forward."
