Last Updated: Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:09
Paul Lambert has praised the Aston Villa fans for keeping faith with him despite the club's current relegation fight.
The majority of Villa supporters have demonstrated great patience with manager Lambert and his crop of new players, who face champions Manchester City at Villa Park on Monday evening, despite their predicament towards the bottom of the Premier League.
Villa are third-bottom in the table and face a real fight to stay in the top flight.
Lambert said: "The Villa fans have been brilliant to me and they've been like that all season long. They could have turned pretty quickly with the results - but they have been excellent.
"They've come in their thousands to watch us home and away. I can't ask anymore from the fans, that's for sure. You can't keep everybody happy all the time, I understand that, and fans naturally get upset with results.
"But in general terms, the crowd at Aston Villa have been brilliant to me. They pay a lot of money to follow the team and will drive us on as always against Manchester City."
Lambert is adamant he is enjoying the battle to stay up and hopes to eventually re-establish Villa as a leading force.
He added: "I do relish the challenge. The last few years, this club has been down there (in a relegation battle) with experienced players.
"It's a great honour to be the manager of the club. It's a massive club with a great history. I've never been one to shy away from things.
"You either roll over over and die or meet things head on and I'm not going to roll over."
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