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.