MacDonald said: "We talked about the [2-1] defeat on Monday [at Stoke], and in particular the players because obviously he's trying to get up to speed with them very, very quickly.
"We spoke about what happened [at Stoke], and his thoughts are not ones I'd like to divulge.
"Of course, he was disappointed, as we all were because we felt the our performance deserved better than what we got, but in the end we didn't get anything."
MacDonald confirmed that, despite Houllier's presence on Saturday, he has sole authority over team selection and tactics.
"At the moment, and again I spoke to him this morning, he said he would just leave me to get on with it and then he'll start after," stated MacDonald.
Villa have lost three games, won two and drawn one under MacDonald
"He didn't feel it would be right to go in and speak to the players to undermine what I was trying to do, although he may say something after.
"But he has told me to get on with it, to make the decisions, which is very fair of him."
MacDonald rejected the opportunity to become Houllier's assistant, and will instead revert back to his old role as reserve team manager.
"For me it's been an invaluable experience. I've enjoyed my time. I'll now head back to the reserves and try and push some more lads forward to the first team," McDonald commented.
"I'll also re-evaluate in the long term what I want to do, but I hope I will be working at Aston Villa for the foreseeable future."
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