Remi Garde
Remi Garde was given an idea as to the challenge facing him at Aston Villa after witnessing his new side suffer a 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Monday evening.
Garde was confirmed as Villa's new manager earlier in the day following the departure of Tim Sherwood and the former Lyon coach was in the stands at White Hart Lane but saw Mousa Dembele give Spurs the lead after only three minutes with his second goal in as many matches after scoring in the 5-1 win at AFC Bournemouth last time out.
Dele Alli's low finish just before half-time looked to have wrapped things up for the hosts but a late show of spirit enabled Villa to get back into the contest.
Jordan Ayew's deflected 79th-minute strike halved the deficit and gave the Midlands club hope of snatching a point but that was snuffed out in stoppage time as Harry Kane wrapped up the victory for Spurs.
The result puts Spurs fifth in the table while Villa remain in bottom place ahead of Garde's first match in charge at home against leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
Dembele opened the scoring when he outmuscled Ciaran Clark after collecting the ball on the left-hand side and fired a low shot under the legs of Brad Guzan at the near post.
Villa went close to responding when Scott Sinclair forced Hugo Lloris into action with a curling effort before Kane - fresh from scoring a hat-trick in the rout at Bournemouth - saw a deflected strike tipped over by Guzan at the other end.
Danny Rose went close from the subsequent corner and Villa's cause was dealt a further blow when Ashley Westwood was forced off through injury. And the visitors were given a mountain to climb in first-half injury time, Alli firing into the bottom-left corner after Joleon Lescott headed a left-wing cross from Rose straight into his path.
Spurs appeared to be cruising to victory in a second half short of clear-cut chances but, after Leandro Bacuna had struck the post, Ayew set up a nervy finish when he pounced on some sloppy defending from the hosts with a strike that deflected in off Jan Vertonghen.
Fellow substitute Rudy Gestede headed wide before Ayew jangled the home fans' nerves further by bending an effort narrowly over.
However, Villa could not take advantage of their superiority in the final minutes and were punished for not taking their chances in stoppage time when Kane found the top-right corner as Tottenham Hotspur moved to within five points of City.
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