Aston Villa 2-1 Hill

by Our Sports Desk

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert believes owner Randy Lerner’s honesty over his desire to sell the club has contributed to their best Premier League start in eight years.

Villa’s 2-1 win over Hull, a scoreline that does not quite do justice to their dominance for the first hour, took them to seven points from a possible nine heading to the international break.

That is their best opening three-game return since 2006/07 and a far cry from the embattled atmosphere that shrouded the club towards the end of last season.

Some expected another year of struggle after US businessman Lerner put the club on the market in the summer, a move that has yet to lead to any concrete interest, but Lambert feels the transparency has helped everyone.

“I think what has helped is the chairman coming out and saying what he said,” explained the Scot.

“That’s given people a clear picture of what is happening.

“Everybody knows the situation with the football club now, the way it is, it’s out there.

“The chairman’s being great, he’s done everything he can here.

“The crowd have galvanised as well. They’ve realised if they stick with it and get right behind it I’m pretty sure we’ll win more than not.”

Villa endured a slightly nervy finale against Hull as Nikica Jelavic’s deflected header halved a two-goal deficit created by the electric Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann inside 36 minutes.

The hosts should have been home and dry by the hour mark but saw Fabian Delph and Ashley Westwood denied by the woodwork.

Lambert, whose side were dire at home last season, was content to focus on the positives of Villa’s early dominance.

“I thought in the first half we were outstanding. If we’d scored another couple I don’t think anyone could have begrudged us that and that would have made the second half a little more easy,” Lambert said.