Lambert believes Villa’s young brigade will deliver

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert will continue to put the accent mainly on youth as he challenged his players to bounce back from the “hurt” of three successive heavy defeats at Swansea today (tues) .

Villa have conceded 15 goals in losing to Chelsea, Tottenham and Wigan and are only one point above the Barclays Premier League bottom three.

Lambert splashed out nearly £23 million last summer on rebuilding the squad after two successive battles against relegation.

He would welcome the return of some of the senior players sidelined through injury, Ron Vlaar, strikers Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren Bent and winger Charles N’Zogbia, although he must plan without Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne, a long-term absentee.

But Lambert still sees young and hungry players as the main route forward and believes long term they will reap the benefits of their current experiences.

When asked if relying on youth means a lack of natural leaders, Lambert said: “That’s the decision I’ve made. The football club has been in relegation battles for the last few years.

“This isn’t just new on them because they’ve been in it for a few years. It’s something we are trying to rectify in a different way and we will still go that way.

“A more experienced team than we have right now has flirted with relegation the last few years.”

Lambert added: “You’ve got to use that hurt and that feeling of being beat and you have to bounce back and that’s something the lads will do.

“There are two ways of doing it. You come back fighting or you sink. I certainly am not going down without a fight.

“They will become better players for it, no doubt.

“You do your utmost to try and make sure you don’t have that feeling again.”

Villa owner Randy Lerner will provide further financial backing to Lambert during the January transfer window.

Lerner and Lambert held talks about the approach to be taken next month before and after Saturday’s home defeat by Wigan.

But Lambert’s immediate priority is to try and obtain a positive result at the Liberty Stadium and he knows Villa have to start better than against the Latics.

He said: “You can’t really offer any crumbs of comfort after losing 3-0 at home but you have to pick yourself up again.

“There is another game in a couple of days and you have to get going.

The hosts will not be taking Villa lightly, according to striker Danny Graham.

He said: “It’s been a difficult time for Aston Villa – everyone’s going to be down. But it’s a football game, we have to respect them.

“It’s going to be a tough game but we’re going to be looking to build on what we’ve done at Fulham and hopefully get another three points on New Year’s Day.”

Despite his goal at Fulham, his fourth of the season, Graham has been linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium, although the former Watford forward has made it clear he wants to continue with the Swans, as long as Laudrup is happy for him to stay.