Aston Villa’s strong start to the season has seen manager Paul Lambert rewarded with a new contract extension, which will see him stay at the club until 2018. The former Norwich City manager has been facing a lot of pressure in recent seasons following his failure to get Villa closer to European qualification positions. One of the few British clubs to have won the European cup, Villa are no longer challenging close to the top of the table due to the budgetary constraints. The club were almost relegated in the last two seasons only for an improvement towards the end of the season.
This campaign, however, things have been very different at Villa Park after they have taken 10 points from the opening four matches. The only dropped points came in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United. Their away form has substantially increased compared to the previous seasons. Villa have also been active in the summer transfer window by recruiting players like Tom Cleverley. They are expected to get even better when star striker Christian Benteke returns from the long injury layoff. Lambert has been at Villa for the last two seasons in which they have finished 15th. He says that he was aware of the rebuilding job on his hands, but the future looks bright for the club according to him.
"I'm determined that we continue building the club to where we all want it to be. We can look to the future with real optimism. I knew the first two years would be tough but we've made progress and now we're beginning to see the benefits of all of that hard work. We're in a much healthier position on and off the pitch. The bar had to be raised, everyone has stepped up and there will be continued improvement," said Lambert.
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