Paul Lambert admits Aston Villa are in a dogfight against relegation
Posted Monday, December 31, 2012 by theguardian.com
Paul Lambert has conceded that Aston Villa are in a relegation battle after a third successive heavy defeat left them one point above the bottom three, but the manager has reiterated his belief that the Midlands club "will be fine" and avoid slipping into the Championship.
On a day when the club's American owner Randy Lerner made a rare visit, Villa never recovered from a calamitous start when Wigan's Iván Ramis scored after only three minutes. The visitors went on to win 3-0 to climb above their opponents on goal difference.
Having lost 8-0 at Chelsea last Sunday and 4-0 against Tottenham Hotspur at home on Boxing Day, Villa have now conceded 15 goals in their last three matches. Ipswich Town, in March 1995, are the only other club to have shipped 15 goals in the space of three consecutive Premier League matches.
There are no suggestions that Lambert's job is under threat but the boos that greeted the final whistle provided a measure of how disgruntled Villa supporters are with recent results. Asked whether he understood the fans' frustrations, Lambert replied: "Absolutely. The fans since I've been here have been brilliant, totally fantastic with myself and the team, so I can understand [their reaction]. The crowd will go away hurt like everybody else, so are we [hurt]. I know we have to stick together, that's really important.
"This football club has been in a survival battle for the last couple of years. You're in a fight, but so are about eight other teams. Everybody is in a fight. The last three results have certainly hurt us, there's no doubt about it because everybody was all positive after the Liverpool game [when Villa won 3-1 prior to the Chelsea defeat]. But as soon as three results go against you, there's negativity, I can understand that. I can see that. But I've got the belief that Aston Villa will be fine."
Wigan had picked up only one point from a possible 18 before the Villa game. "That's the disappointing thing, when you are competing with everyone else round about you and you get turned over 3-0 at home, then it certainly hurts you, that's for sure," said Lambert. "It's a hard one to take."
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- Aston Villa
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