Micah Richards says Aston Villa players used to mock 'worst manager' he played under during his team talks

Micah Richards has claimed Aston Villa players used to mock the 'worst manager' he's ever played under during team talks.

Richards joined Villa in 2015 after falling out of favour at Manchester City under Manuel Pellegrini.

The former England international hoped to get his career back on track and turned down a contract extension at the Etihad Stadium in search of first-team football.

His time at Villa Park was less than stellar, with the club finishing bottom of the Premier League and being relegated for the first time.

Villa sacked Tim Sherwood in October 2015 while rooted to the foot of the table. They hired Remi Garde a month later and hoped he could steer them out of the drop zone.

It ended up being a disastrous appointment, with Garde departing by mutual consent in March 2016. The club were still bottom of the Premier League and, a few weeks later, officially relegated.

Richards discussed working with Garde on the latest edition of the 'Rest Is Football' podcast.

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Co-host Gary Lineker asked if working with managers can impact the mood of the team, immediately gunning for Richards' opinion.

He named Garde, which brought a laugh from Alan Shearer. Richards composed himself before issuing a response.

He said: "You know what, Remi Garde, I've maybe been a little bit disrespectful..."

Lineker then jumped in with: "You said he was s**t!"

Richards, after a good chuckle, responded: "He meant well and is obviously a good coach, you don't get these jobs if you're not a good coach.

"What we needed at Aston Villa at that time, he wasn't the right fit. When Remi Garde came in the changing room and used to do his team talks, people used to be nudging me, wanting to laugh.

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"He didn't have the authority that the group needed. For Aston Villa, he wasn't the greatest."

Richards previously criticised Garde for bringing 'absolutely nothing' to Villa and criticised his training ground instructions.

He told the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast: "He was… and I never put away managers because I don’t feel you need to, but he brought absolutely nothing.

"He was the worst manager I’ve ever come across! His sessions were ridiculous. He was trying to tell me how to control the football."