Lambert urges Villa response

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has admitted he side must make significant improvements following their 4-1 defeat to Southampton.

The Saints had not picked up a single point in the Premier League until Saturday and they looked like they would have to wait a little longer, when they went behind to a Darren Bent goal. However a superb Southampton fightback at St Mary's, compounded with Stephen Ireland going off with a suspected broken arm, made for a day to forget for Lambert and his men. The former Norwich City boss was disappointed with his side's performance on Saturday on the South Coast and knows Villa, who you can back using your free bet, will have to make major progress over the coming weeks. He said: "If you're not bang at it, that's what can happen. "We deserved to go one-up at half-time but you have to sustain that. In the second half it wasn't good enough. "Now we pick ourselves up and go again. I never get too high when we win and I never get too despondent when we lose."