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BENTEKE RULED OUT

During Belgium’s friendly match against Colombia, Christian Benteke picked up a knee injury that saw him leaving the playing ground on November 14th which forced him to be absent during his national team’s friendly encounter against Japan and still not certain if he will be available to play in Aston Villa’s upcoming Premier League match against West Bromwich.

Although the medical staff of Belgium did however notify Paul Lambert and said that the injury is not as bad as initially suspected and Benteke is expected to make a full recovery just in time for the Premier League.

Taking into consideration that Christian Benteke is Aston Villa’s main goal-scoring player it will be a big blow if they have to cope without him in such important matches of the league.

Last season Aston Villa’s Andreas Weimann managed to scored 7 goals for his club while in this new season he is going through a dry run after only finding the back of the net in 1 occasion out of 10 appearances.

Even failing to make any kind of impact for his national team after 3 World Cup matches for Austria but he did say that the only thing he needs to boost his performances is 1 goal and from there on out everything changes.

“If I get one goal, I feel I can go on a run. I certainly have that mindset. It can set you off. Your confidence starts to rise and you feel you can’t miss.”

“I will start scoring soon. I know it. I am not worried. I am getting in the right positions.”

So far in this season Aston Villa has conceded 12 goals and scored 11 goals, so it would be very appreciated if Weimann can boost their tally of goals and get into higher spots of the Premier League.

BENTEKE RULED OUT

Aston Villa have been dealt a blow with the news that striker Christian Benteke will miss the next few weeks due to an injury. The Belgian international suffered a hip injury during the 1-0 win over Norwich. This victory helped bring a run of three consecutive defeats for the team, while also helping them move closer to the top half of the table. Benteke is currently the top scorer in the division with four goals to his name already. Aston Villa went to great lengths to keep him at the club after he handed in a transfer request in the summer.

Manager Paul Lambert, though, has said that he is quite satisfied with the news that Benteke has always injury at the stage where the next two seasons will be dedicated to international matches. This means that the injury blow will be softened a lot for the team. Villa have a number of players on the injury table and the sooner they get Benteke back from this layoff will be better for Lambert and his men. The likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Gardner, Charles N’Zogbia and Ashley Westwood for on the sidelines for the club, which narrowly avoided relegation last season.

Villa will be hoping for a much better campaign where they could finish in the top half this season.

“It’s not as bad as we feared it was going to be. It’s maybe four, five, six weeks or so. You have that international break which certainly helps us. But he’s feeling a lot better to be fair. We will have to wait and see. We spoke to the medical people before and they give the best and worst case scenarios. You are never quite sure until you hear from the professor to find out how it is,” said Lambert.

BENTEKE SIGNS EXTENSION

Aston Villa recently managed to convince striker Christian Benteke to extend his spell at the club. The Belgian striker was signed from Genk only last summer for £ 7 million, but an impressive season in the Premier league has led to him being linked with every big club in England. Chelsea and Tottenham have been linked with a £ 25 million move for his services. The striker handed a transfer request to Aston Villa after just one season at the club. He still had three more years left on his contract that he signed upon his arrival.

However, manager Paul Lambert managed to convince him to stay at Aston Villa because it is a crucial time that could determine his passage into the 2014 World Cup. Belgium are currently one of the favourites to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Lambert has said that Benteke will struggle to get into the Belgian squad if he does not play regularly in the coming season. He has said that the prospect of regular first-team opportunities is good only at Aston Villa. The striker scored close to 20 goals for the club last season as he helped them avoid relegation.

His huge physical presence has made him a force to reckon with in the Premier league.

“He’s not even at his peak yet. But he has quickly become a cult hero. The big thing for him is to go out and try to do what he did last year,” said the manager after the player signed a new four-year contract with the club. Benteke revealed that he has decided to extend his Aston Villa stay after extensive conversations with Lambert. He has also said that he is extremely thankful of the Aston Villa players and fans, who have been supportive of him in the last one year.

BENTEKE WINS PLAUDITS

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert praised Christian Benteke after the Chelsea match and he has said that the team definitely missed him in the second half. The Belgian striker scored the first goal in the match to surprise the visitors, who were chasing a Champions League spot. He proved to be a major thorn for the opposition, as they found it difficult to contain his pace and power. The goal against Chelsea was his 23rd of the season, with 20 of those coming in the league. He was signed for just £ 7 million in the summer, which is proving to be a bargain.

Frank Lampard, though, scored two goals in the second half to send Chelsea to a victory, which almost sealed a Champions League spot for the team. The big decision came in the second half when the referee sent off Christian Benteke for his second yellow card. However, Villa manager Lambert has said that he will not be toning down his striker, who has been hugely influential. As a result of the red card, Benteke will miss the final match of the season against Wigan. Villa appear to be relatively safe, although it could be confirmed if Wigan are defeated against Arsenal in the midweek action.

“No. I won’t curtail that. The ‘Big ‘Un’ takes some himself, he’s not a shrinking violet, that’s for sure. If you take that away from really good players you lose a bit of them. We’ll miss him, but we’ve got to go there full of confidence with the way we are playing. We’ve got to just pick ourselves up and go again,” said Lambert. Villa are currently 16th in the table after 37 matches. The team have 40 points on the board and they have 2 wins in the last 5 matches.

LOOKING AT THE POSITIVES

After taking over from Alex McLeish in the summer, a lot of positive football was expected from Paul Lambert at Aston Villa. However, his team have struggled throughout the season and they are currently in a relegation zone. They have just 21 points from the 25 matches played so far this campaign. The manager has admitted for the first time that it is a horrible experience to be in charge of a club like Aston Villa in this position. He has said that the only chance of Villa staying in the Premier league this season is to win ugly from here on in.

After taking over in the summer, Lambert has been extremely keen on introducing young players to the team. This has resulted in Villa having the lowest average age of the squad in several weekends of the Premier league. This has consequently resulted in lower experience amongst the players, which has been evident in several matches. Villa came extremely close to snatching three points during this weekend as well in the match against Everton. They were leading the match 3-1 in the second half only to concede two goals in the final few minutes to draw the match. As a result, they continue to sit on the relegation zone.

“It is horrible. We’re in a fight and we have to drive ourselves out of it. We had a chat the other day and they know what they have to do. The effort they are giving is there in abundance. I believe they can do it and they do themselves. We spoke about things and they’ve been pretty positive. Winning covers a multitude of sins; it always does, and if you play poor and win, you’d take it,” said the manager. Villa have not managed a single win in the last eight matches.

WEMBLEY DREAMS

Aston Villa last reached the Wembley stage under the management of Martin O’Neill, but they have the opportunity to do the same ones again under the current manager Paul Lambert. The former Norwich city man has said that it would be extremely delightful if Villa managed to reach the final of the Capital One Cup. The club are currently in the semi-final stage of the competition and will be playing against lower league opposition in the form of Bradford city. Hence, Villa are the firm favourites to the final of the competitions where they will face either Chelsea or Swansea.

Lambert has the experience of any major trophies including the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund during his playing days, but he is yet to replicate this achievement with a major trophy like the FA Cup or the League cup as a manager. Even though Villa have been struggling for form and consistency in the league, Lambert has said that reaching the final of the competition will be a major achievement for the club. Even though Bradford managed to knockout Arsenal in the previous stage, they are unlikely to give a lot of trouble to Aston Villa. Villa recently progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win over Ipswich.

“I never look at it like that on my own behalf. It’s for the players and fans. I never look at myself and think: ‘I’m going to do that,’ because it’s irrelevant. The most important thing is the club and the players and for us to get to Wembley again would be extraordinary. In a one-off game there you never know what might happen. I think every player would tell you that to get there would be phenomenal,” said Lambert. This club will be playing against Bradford on Wednesday night.

LAMBERT WILL SPOIL PARTY

The Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has said that he will be looking to spoil the party ahead of the first home game of the season for QPR with Harry Redknapp as the manager. The former Tottenham manager was recently appointed as the replacement for Mark Hughes, and he started his QPR career with a draw against Sunderland. The 0-0 draw away from home has given the team enough confidence to take on the Aston Villa team, who are on a good run of form, according to Harry Redknapp. However, Lambert has said that his team will be looking to gatecrash the party atmosphere at Loftus Road by taking three points from this encounter.

Aston Villa come into the match after having struggled for most of the season with relegation trouble. However, the last few weeks have been good for the Midlanders given that they have taken two victories in the last five matches, which have helped them to get out of the relegation zone. Lambert will be taking his Aston Villa team who will be high on confidence on the back of the 1-0 win over Reading in the midweek action. Lambert has praised Redknapp by saying that he is one of the best managers in the world, but since they are playing well at the moment he is confident of getting a result at Loftus Road.

“Harry going in there will automatically give them a big lift because he is a brilliant manager. Everyone knows what Harry can do from the clubs he has been at during his career. QPR have an abundance of really good players, the crowd will be buoyant and will get behind him. You wish him well – but after tomorrow. The pressure is on QPR to make the running but we are definitely a threat, that’s for sure,” said Lambert.

LAMBERT WILL OVERCOME POOR START

The Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has said that he is confident that the team can overcome the poor start in that they have made to the new season and comfortably avoided relegation. Aston Villa were recently held 1-1 by Paul Lambert’s former club Norwich city at Villa Park. This poor result once again meant that Aston Villa are no closer to improving than they were under Alex McLeish. Despite the ongoing troubles, the manager Lambert has backed the players to deliver the performance in the upcoming matches. He has said that Aston Villa will get enough results to get them out of the relegation trouble.

It was only a few years ago that Aston Villa were challenging in the European spot under the former manager Martin O’Neill. However, the tightening of the purse by the owner Randy Lerner has subsequently resulted in the team’s quality decreasing considerably over the years. Despite this, Lambert reckons that he has a good squad at his disposal. Christian Benteke scored the opening goal for Aston Villa, but they were held to a draw following the equaliser from Norwich city. Norwich then could have easily gone on to win the match had it not been for the narrow escapes.

“I know the stats. We have to try to win games. But I have a real faith and trust in these players. I have great belief in them. I’ll stick with them. They will be fine. I’ve not been long here and we just need to keep building and building and keep doing our best. In terms of the league, there is nothing in it (points-wise). If the lads keep the effort and commitment going, then they will be fine,” said Lambert after the match. Chris Hughton was delighted with the first point away from home after a long time.

LAMBERT HAS TOUGH JOB

The Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has said that he has a tough job on his hands when it comes to making Aston Villa successful once again. Aston Villa spent a lot of money under the regime of Martin O’Neill in the efforts to qualify for the Champions League. However, that dream never materialised and Martin O’Neill left the job soon afterwards due to the lack of support from the board. Aston Villa have since cut their investment in players and wages due to the spiralling debts caused by the regime of Martin O’Neill. It has also subsequently been reflected in the league position in the last couple of seasons.

Paul Lambert was recently appointed as a replacement for Alex McLeish, who had a very disappointing season with Aston Villa last season. Many were expecting the former Norwich city manager to instantly make an impact at the club. However, Aston Villa have made a slow start to the season and Paul Lambert has acknowledged that it is certainly not going to be easy for the club to be challenging for the top honours once again. He has said that there is a massive rebuilding job ahead of him if they are to return to the glory days.

“I know the job is huge and we’re trying everything we can to sort it. It’s a massive club. The fans were willing us to do really well, but we just never did it. That’s my problem. Owner Randy Lerner, myself and chief executive Paul Faulkner will sit and see what’s going to happen. If something comes available and I think it’s worthwhile, then you can look at it. It’s a really young side and sometimes you need a little bit of help,” said Paul Lambert after the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Everton.

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LAMBERT LOVING VLAAR

The manager of Aston Villa, Paul Lambert, has said that he is quite impressed with Ron Vlaar’s performance in the match against Nottingham Forest. That was the first match of Vlaar for Aston Villa. Nottingham defeated Aston Villa by 3-1 in the match. As per Lambert, though the team was not able to win the match, but, Vlaar’s performance in the match was a big positive for Aston Villa. Vlaar has signed for Aston Villa this summer. He has joined the club on a contract of 3 years.

Before joining Aston Villa, Vlaar used to play for Feyenoord. He had been playing for Feyenoord since the last 6 years. He joined Feyenoord in 2006 and in his very first season for the club, he started getting chances to feature in the first team. But, during his tenure with Feyenoord, Vlaar struggled with injuries a lot. In the 2006-07 season, he had to miss a large number of matches due to foot injury. In the next season, he injured himself again and he had to go through a surgery. Due to that, he wasn’t able to play in the later part of 2007-08 season. In the last two seasons, he played without having an injury and his performance was quite good in the last season. He decided to move to Aston Villa this summer.

Lambert said that Vlaar would become very popular among the crowd in the upcoming season. He is technically very good and he has got a fantastic temperament as well. On being asked about the defeat of Aston Villa against Nottingham, Lambert said that he doesn’t give too much importance to these pre season games. Winning the league matches is more important for the team. As per Lambert, he doesn’t want to think too much about this defeat. He has full confidence in his players and hopefully, they would do well in the upcoming season.