Hugo Lloris has backed Remi Garde to guide Aston Villa to safety.
The Tottenham goalkeeper worked under Villa's new manager while the two were at Lyon, and on Monday played against the team Garde has inherited in Spurs' 3-1 Premier League win.
A dismal start to the season left Villa bottom of the table with only four points from 11 games, with Tim Sherwood sacked amid suggestions the summer transfer window simply left their squad too weak.
Lloris, however, believes they possess greater talent than they are given credit for, and said that Garde's previous experience of English football from playing for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in the 1990s, combined with the tactical knowledge he has seen for himself, will ultimately prove enough to rescue them.
"Yeah, I think so," Lloris responded when asked if Garde could lead Villa to survival. "I know him very well because he was my manager for one year in Lyon.
"He is a great man and a great manager. He did only three years but under him, during my year, I really enjoyed my time.
"It's only positive about him. Tactically, he's going to bring his knowledge, and he has proper experience as a player with Arsenal, and I think he really wanted to join the Premier League.
"Aston Villa is a big club and a big opportunity for him, and I'm sure he will show how he's able to do."
Garde faces the unenviable task of assuming control of a team without a Premier League victory since Aug. 8.
Villa on Saturday host Manchester City before the international football break and then travel to Everton, ensuring that his first two fixtures as manager will come against two of the division's strongest teams.
"His first two games, against City and Everton are not easy, but during the international break he's going to have two weeks to work with and get to know his players," Lloris added.
"They have a young team but some talented players and just need to fix a couple of details to be stronger as a team."
Meanwhile, Remi Garde has told his players the dressing room must be a strictly English-speaking environment. Garde says French will be banned because he wants his new charges to speak a common language for the sake of unity.
As with all squads in the league, Villa are a multi-national group of players, and Frenchman Garde says there will be no favouritism.
He said on AVTV: "I won't care more about the French players than I will with the English or the Spanish or the African one. The team is a whole team; we need to be all together.
"They have to learn English quickly because I don't want anybody speaking French in the dressing room for example because it's very important we understand each other.
"But as well it's also important the English player speaks slowly sometimes at the beginning. Everybody has to make efforts to be a big team, because when you have such qualities in the dressing room normally we should do better.
"It's a huge task but everybody has to be concerned about that."
The loss to Tottenham was Villa's seventh straight loss in the Premier League. But Garde is optimistic ahead of his challenge and spoke of his pride and determination to turn things around.
"It feels very good -- I am very proud to be the new Aston Villa manager," said Garde. "I am here to do my best -- to give a lot to this big football club. When you come into a football club there is always pressure, difficulties, problems to solve -- but this is what you have to cope with.
"I know it's a huge and historic football club that needs at the moment to improve. I hope to do that."