Holly in a pot

Hi

I am asking this on behalf of my neighbour.

She was given a holly bush which is now in a rather sad condition. It was bought from Tesco's and it looks like nothing much more than several sticks with a few leaves so can this be rescued as it still seems to be alive. My husband has given it a good prune to clear out the dead branches but what does my neighbour need to do to look after it as she wants to keep it in a pot but is this possible and if so what kind of sized pot as the stem is already about 1in diameter and also what kind of soil and watering.