Paul Lambert has been given the full backing of Aston Villa’s chief executive and their American owner Randy Lerner following their run of poor results.

Villa, who started the season brightly and were second in the middle of September, have slipped to 15th in the table, the same position they ended in last season.

Villa’s chief executive Tom Fox said sacking Lambert mid-season would be like “flipping a coin.”

He added: “When things aren’t going well, fans bay for that type of blood. That’s not the way that I or the owner are going to make a decision. It’s a false narrative.”