Up for sale Villa ‘needs investment’

Paul Lambert says Aston Villa will only fulfil their potential with significant investment as the club seeks a new owner to replace Randy Lerner.

The US entrepreneur, who bought the former European champions from Doug Ellis for £60m in 2006, put Villa up for sale yesterday, stating it is time the club found “fresh, invigorated leadership” after an acrimonious campaign which ended in a 15th place Premier League finish.

Lambert says Villa are punching below their weight for too long and that the solution was simple.

“It needs investment, it’s simple. It smacks you right in the face what the team needs. That’s the bottom line,” Lambert said.

“It’s a brilliant football club, it’s just too big a club to hover about where it is. It should be rivalling places like Tottenham and has been in the past. It’s a huge club and if it does get it right, it can certainly be up there.”