Blog: Aston Villa need to be aware that relegation isn't an impossibility

After a week off from playing, Aston Villa will head into Sunday's game at St. James' Park hoping to secure one or more points, though that in itself can't be seen as a certainty.

The past two games - against West Ham United and Cardiff City - were widely seen by fans as a way to grab six points and keep the Villans from slipping into a relegation battle.

As it stood, Villa took just one point from the pair of fixtures, with both teams being part of the bottom three when the games were being played. West Ham, as a result of winning just two games, went from bottom three to tenth in the league - a change that shows how tight things are.

The fact that the league is so tight also makes a mockery of the club's decision to announce new contract negotiations for Paul Lambert in the middle of the season. For Villa fans, we know the season has been a challenging one, with home wins a scarcity so, given the club's position in the mix at the bottom of the table, such a choice puzzled me.

Don't get me wrong - I understand the need for stability at the club, and getting Lambert to stay on is probably as sensible a plan as the board could make. What I don't seem to understand is why negotiations had to be announced publicly in a season where Villa's fate is far from certain.

The board may well argue that regardless of whether Villa survive or are relegated, Lambert is their man and, as I said before, I can see some logic to it. However, I can also see the effect it has had on fans across social media, serving only to prove that Villa do not do public relations well.

Randy Lerner, the club's often-silent owner, often takes a stance where saying nothing is better than saying something, In a world where every minute bit of information is scrutinised, spun and otherwise re-distributed, he may well be doing the right thing, but it doesn't help to quell the increasing rift between fans and the club.

In fact, we're at a stage now where home games seem to have become a universally disliked occasion. The players look a lot more tense when playing at Villa Park, supporters are nervy - often sitting with crossed arms waiting to be entertained - and away teams come knowing that the majority of away teams come away with a point or more.

It is this statistic that makes some of the club's recent moves seem foolish. The talk made by Paul Faulkner about progress - given Villa's then position of tenth - has been shot down quickly by another team in claret & blue, proving you can go from the relegation zone to the top half in two games.

Now whilst it would be a lot harder to go in the opposite direction so quickly - simply because everyone below you can't win due to how fixtures occur - Villa need to be well aware that relegation isn't an impossibility.

For the record, I do think Villa will survive and, in addition, I think the club are right to stand behind the manager due to the way the project needs to be built. The main issue I feel, however, is what happens in the summer.

If Villa do survive, will we see more money be spent by the owner on progressing a team that has spent recent years mostly in the bottom half? Or are we to assume that austerity is the way to go forwards?

If the former transpires to be the case, fans will no doubt forget the past few years if progress eventually comes. However, if Villa do end up in a loop of austere measures going forwards, here's one fan who can only see the situation ending in tears sooner or later.

You can follow Matt Turvey's regular opinions at his own site, Aston Villa Life at www.astonvillalife.com, via the site's Twitter account @astonvillalife, or via his own Twitter account @mturvey_star.