Carew, who played under Houllier previously at Lyon, has been Villa's leading scorer for the past three seasons. But Carew was involved in a public spat with Houllier after claiming the Frenchman has been disrespectful in challenging him to earn a new contract. Both parties played this down but Carew has slipped down the pecking order and Houllier admitted the player feels he needs time to gain full match fitness. Petrov hopes any lingering differences can be resolved for the sake of Villa's scrap to survive in the top flight. The Bulgarian international said: "Is there any chance Carew might get back involved? You know what, I hope so, I hope so. It is really frustrating. "I won't go into details but, I'll tell you what, if John wants to show these fans that he wants to belong here, he is going to help us because we really need him. "At times like this you need characters and he is definitely one of them and we hope we can have him because he has been a big figure here. We've missed him." When asked if Carew would be picked, Petrov added: "Well, I think they (Houllier and Carew) need to sort that between themselves. They are grown men and everything is about the club. "If you want to have someone in the team, you just need to go and see what he can do. "If we have him, it will be great because he has scored goals for us and we know what John is capable of. "If they can work it out, we will definitely welcome John because he is a big part of this team. "Would I pick him? I'll pick anyone that is available because we've got good players and we need everyone available now." Villa have slipped into the bottom three after last night's home defeat by Sunderland but Petrov believes the players are ready to fight and battle their way out of trouble. He said: "We've got 18 games to go and we hope and will try to be in the Premier League because from now on it is going to be a long and hard fight. "We're up for it. We don't run from it. We understand the frustration, the fans frustration. It is just normal. "They want to come here and see a successful team. We are not showing it at the moment and they've got the right to do it (show frustration). "But we've need to change their mind. We can only turn things around, nobody else. "People say you need to react. It is hard but we will get our heads around it. It is hard at the moment but that is why we are sticking together. "We know how hard it is. We've got talent but it is a different kind of pressure. It is up to us to do it."
