Houllier remains "comfortable" in a Birmingham hospital after being admitted on Wednesday evening suffering from chest pains. Assistant boss McAllister, who has taken charge of the team in Houllier's absence, and several of the coaching staff visited Houllier over the weekend. The players are also planning to visit the former Liverpool boss, who underwent heart surgery during his spell at Anfield a decade ago. McAllister said: "We are very much in the hands of the specialist. There is a lot of monitoring going on, there are loads of machines in and around Gerard. "As far as I am concerned, the way I see it, it is a bit early to suggest the length of time he is going to be in there or what the next step is." When asked if Houllier will be unable to return to Villa this season, McAllister said: "It is hard to tell. "But speaking to the doctors, it looks like for the next two or three days he is still going to be in there, being monitored and being looked after by the best in the country. "With Gerard's history, it has got to be left with the guys who know best and that's the specialist and Gerard's surgeon from the first problem at Liverpool." Villa striker Darren Bent, signed by Houllier in January, said: "I think the club are arranging a hospital visit for the boys. "Hopefully I'll get a chance to speak to him and go and see him."
