Aston Villa manager Remi Garde has insisted that he is still optimistic that his side can avoid Premier League relegation despite their increasingly woerful start to the season.

Villa are five points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table, seven from safety, after losing 3-2 at home to Watford on Saturday to make it a club-record 13 matches without a win since the opening day of the season.

Garde has overseen one draw and two defeats since taking over from Tim Sherwood on November 2, but he maintains that the whole club has to still believe that they can avoid a first relegation in over two decades.

"I am disappointed like all the players and staff," he told BBC Sport. "We worked hard during the week to win this game and this defeat is difficult because I thought that we deserved a result.

"But we never had a chance to lead in the game. We were coming from behind and it was difficult for the players to gain confidence. I think that we defended poorly, we conceded early and it was difficult to get the three points.

"It is not just the defence and individuals, we have to do better as a team. Things are not in our favour because we are at the bottom, we are in trouble, but I do not see any players letting the shirt down which is good news for the future.

"I would have liked to win today, it would have given us a lot of confidence. But we have to still believe and I stay an optimist."

Villa face a trip to Southampton next Saturday knowing that even victory on the South Coast would not lift them off the bottom of the table.