Paul Lambert confident Aston Villa will survive threat of Premier League relegation

Villains are currently in the bottom three

Manager Paul Lambert insists Aston Villa are “playing well enough” to stave off the threat of being relegated for the first time in 25 years.

Villa slipped back into the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League for the fourth time this season after losing 2-1 at Arsenal on Saturday.

They now entertain Manchester City next Monday before back to back games with fellow strugglers Reading and QPR.

But Lambert has seen enough plus points from the recent performances to convince him Villa can survive.

He said: "We have got big games, massive games still to come. There will be a lot of twists and turns over the next couple of months.

"People ask if it's now three teams from four but there are a few teams there who will be looking over their shoulder.

"I don't know what teams it might be but you always find a surprise somewhere.

"But we are certainly playing well enough (to stay up). The players believe (we can stay up) because of the way we they are playing.

"We have belief in ourselves that we will always be okay. The way they are playing, honestly I can't ask for anymore."

Lambert added: "Sometimes you walk off a pitch and think 'we didn't deserve anything' but that wasn't the case at Arsenal and hasn't been the case in recent games.

"We've played well against the likes of West Brom, Newcastle in the second half, Everton, West Ham."

Lambert is regularly fielding questions about the inexperienced nature of his side.

But he said: "The only way you get experience is by playing. To be honest I don't really listen to the critics. That's the honest answer for you.

"We just try and keep our heads up all the time and keep the spirit up. The training feels good and upbeat so to be fair I've not seen their heads go down even in training. They are always upbeat.

"It's important that you bounce back really quickly win lose or draw. We never dwell on it too much. We always keep them upbeat.

"They just need to keep going and keep that spirit and then hopefully we will win more games than not."

PA