Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace - Remi Garde calls on Randy Lerner and Tom Fox

Aston Villa manager Remi Garde hopes club owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Tom Fox will break their silence soon.

The manager also insisted he understands supporters' anger after he and the players were mercilessly abused by fans.

Garde revealed he has asked owner Lerner to talk to the fans - and believes he will speak soon - with the club in disarray and fury spilling over with Villa bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Garde and the squad were abused as they boarded the coach after Saturday's 1-1 FA Cup draw at Wycombe, while Micah Richards also spoke to supporters to calm tensions during the game.

American Lerner has barely spoken to the media in five years and Garde expects he and chief executive Fox, who is in New York to hold talks with Lerner about the club's January transfer plans, to address Villa's situation.

He said: "This is something I asked from them a fortnight ago, or something like that. Not to take the pressure off me - if I didn't want the pressure I wouldn't have this job.

"It's more because I'm facing you (the media) every week but actually I know Villa from inside for only 10 weeks now.

"At some point I cannot explain and I am not in the position to judge what happened before and whether it was right or wrong because I wasn't here."

Villa host Crystal Palace on Tuesday marooned at the bottom of the league and 11 points from safety.

They are seven points behind second bottom Sunderland and tensions boiled over after Villa failed to beat League Two Wycombe on Saturday.

Videos of the manager and players being abused after the game were posted on social media while substitutes Brad Guzan and Joleon Lescott were also accused of playing a game involving chewing gum during the match.

Garde tried to move on from the weekend but conceded he expected the reaction.

He said: "I know football, in every country it's the same. I understand completely the fans' frustration. I am not surprised because I know that from situations from different clubs I have played and worked for."

The boss said he was not aware of the reported issue with Lescott and Guzan but reminded all players of their responsibilities.

He added: "What I can say is, as a professional player, you need to behave in the right way with respect for everybody."

Against Palace, Richards is expected to recover from an ankle injury but Garde is without Carlos Sanchez and Alan Hutton (hamstring) and Adama Traore (foot). Jack Grealish (tonsilitis) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (back) are doubts.

Charles N'Zogbia and Libor Kozak are available but are not expected to feature with Garde prepared to let them leave this month.

Palace assistant manager Keith Millen has warned his players not to give a wounded Villa any encouragement.

"We need to get off to a good start and if there is a volatile atmosphere there we don't want to give them any sort of encouragement to get behind the Aston Villa team," Millen said.

"Fair enough to Micah Richards to brave the fans and try and explain the situation to them. I don't know what was said but he is certainly passionate about Aston Villa and what is going on and it is hurting him.

"The main thing from the fans' point of view is that they want to see the players going out there fighting for the cause of the club and they have got every right to express their feelings.

"They are under pressure and they desperately need a win. We have been there at the bottom of the league but fortunately managed to get ourselves out of it so we know what that pressure is like.

"You are looking for something in the game to cling on to - whether it is the first goal or something to get the crowd involved - so we have to make sure we are ready for the start of the game."

In contrast to Villa, Palace are seventh in the table, and after three games without a league victory over the festive period they returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-1 victory at Southampton in the FA Cup.

"We were pleased we didn't get a a replay from Saturday's game," added Millen, who was deputising for manager Alan Pardew in Monday's pre-match press conference.

"The FA Cup is a massive competition and we put a full-strength team out and luckily we got a result."

Yannick Bolasie remains sidelined for the trip, but Connor Wickham is back in Palace's squad after returning to training following a calf injury.