Paul Lambert: Light at the End of the Tunnel
Despite a massively challenging season at Aston Villa, the club's manager Paul Lambert tells Andy Greeves why he is still relishing his role in the Villans hot seat.
Remarkably for a big club languishing in the bottom places of the Barclays Premier League and with just two months remaining to get the points required to avoid a first relegation from the top flight since 1987, there is a sense of real togetherness at Aston Villa Football Club.
The manager, usually the first in the firing line in such difficult circumstances, still has the backing of the vast majority of fans at Villa Park, who buy into Paul Lambert's medium to long term plans for the club. The players also seem united behind their Scottish boss with club skipper Ron Vlaar telling journalists after the catastrophic defeat to Bradford City in the Capital One Cup Final Semi Final: "The players are still all behind the manager. That is not an issue. Why should it be?"
Lambert himself remains upbeat and despite just quarter of the season remaining, he is confident that come the end of the campaign, Villa will still be in the Barclays Premier League.
"I think we should have more points than we do because we played well in some games and came away with nothing," reflects Lambert on the season so far. "We've also been leading by two goals in some games but still couldn't see it through. However, there are still a lot of games to be played and points to be played for.
"We don't have a points target as such because you can never be sure how well a team is going to do. As I said, there are a lot of points to be played for over the next lot of games, so we'll just have to wait and see. With the way the lads are playing at the moment I can see us picking up some really good wins. In respect of a points target I'm really not sure what is going to be enough to keep any of the teams up."
While results have been largely disappointing for Villa this season, including a humbling Christmas period that saw them concede 15 goals in three straight defeats to Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic, the big positive had been the presence of so many young players into the first team. The likes of Matthew Lowton, Joe Bennett and Ciaran Clark have all impressed, while Christian Benteke has been one of the buys of the season so far.
Alan Hansen famously commented that you "win nothing with kids" but Lambert is not afraid in putting his trust in the club's youth.
"You know that when you bring in young players they don't have a fear or feel the pressure as much as when they get a bit older. I don't have a problem playing young players at all, if you're good enough then I'll throw you in, everyone has to have an opportunity to perform.
"It is tough to leave an older player out, especially a seasoned one who has played 100 or 200 games, but you always have to make the decision which is right for the football club. You hope when you do leave someone out that they understand and are professional about it. I do always try and tell the experienced ones beforehand that I'm going to leave them out so it's not a shock to the system when the team is read out."
A lot of responsibility for Villa and their survival will rest on the shoulders of Christain Benteke, who has shone throughout much of the season, including scoring a brace in a 3-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on December 15, 2012. His success in a Villa shirt so far comes as little surprise to the man who signed him.
"We signed him (Benteke) because I thought we needed a striker like him at the football club," reflects Lambert. "I felt we needed a target man so we looked around and saw Christian playing at Genk. He actually played with a striker partner that we looked at beforehand. We were looking across several different leagues at people but went back to watch Christian again and things moved from there.
"We watched him more and one of the scouts saw him playing for Belgium and we decided to take a chance. Nobody really knew too much about him before he arrived, but since he has I think his performances have been exceptional. Plus he is also playing in a really good Belgian national team, is still only 22-years-old and probably won't hit his peak until his late twenties."
Since Aston Villa became founder members of the Premier League back in 1992, they have largely enjoyed top flight finishes. Second in the division in its debut season in 1992-32, the West Midlands outfit have finished 15 out of their 20 campaigns in the top half of the league so far - nine of those in the top six. The threat of relegation is largely a new threat in that time, though they did have a few close run-ins in seasons 2002-03, 2005-06 and 2011-12.
The dialogue coming out of Aston Vila though is one you would associate from a club far more use to having relegation fights on their hands every season. The old football clichés of taking things a game at a time, remaining positive and keeping level headed no matter what are being spouted around these parts in relatively monotonous frequency.
"That (keeping a positive atmosphere around the club) is something we have always tried to do whether we have won, lost or drawn. We always try and keep things upbeat and don't dwell too much on a loss but instead try and keep a level playing field, this way everyone can keep enjoying their football.
"There is nothing worse than coming into a workplace which is negative and down, that's when you can start to lose the players. The important thing is not to feel sorry for yourself, you have to stay positive."
Remaining upbeat is something that the manager, not just the players, must remain in this situation. The Glaswegian, who won the UEFA Champions League with Borussia Dortmund as a player, can certainly be relied upon to keep a level head and keep doing a job he insists he is enjoying and doing to the best of his ability.
"I love the challenge of it," he smiles. "The size of the club underlines just how big a challenge it is and I love the pressure of that. It is a great club to be associated with and the fans have been great, they've stuck with us and that has been a huge help. I hope over the remaining games we can see the job through for them."
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