Villa owner backing under-pressure Lambert

(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has broken his long silence to give his backing to under-pressure manager Paul Lambert following a difficult week for the Premier League club.

Lambert's young side is just one place above the relegation zone after picking up two points from its last six games, and was eliminated from both domestic cup competitions last week.

Lerner, who rarely speaks publicly about Villa, praised Lambert's "character and belief in his approach to football."

The American businessman told local paper the Express and Star on Monday that "Paul has achieved success at many levels of professional football and I believe, given support, he will continue to do so for us."

Lambert is the favorite with British bookmakers to be the next Premier League manager to be fired.

Updated January 28, 2013