Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert set for new contract
Villa were today ready to hand boss Paul Lambert a bumper new deal.
The claret and blues have entered talks with the manager about extending his contract, which expires next year.
He is expected to sign a new three-year deal before the end of the season to underline the faith owner Randy Lerner has in the Scot.
Villa are happy with the progress the club has made since Lambert replaced Alex McLeish in 2012 and believe a mid-table finish this season would represent serious improvement.
The club want stability after the short-lived reigns of Gerard Houllier and McLeish, with both lasting less than a year in the hot-seat.
Lambert's tenure has not been straightforward as he tries to turn Villa around after three years of struggle.
They beat relegation by five points last year after a season-long battle against the Premier League drop.
And he still yet to win over some fans after failing to address the poor home form and has won just eight league games at Villa Park - and suffered embarrassing cup exits to Bradford and Sheffield United.
They are still just five points above the bottom three ahead of Saturday's visit of West Ham and Tuesday's trip to Cardiff.
But Villa have maintained it has always been a long-term plan under Lambert as they trim the wage budget with Lerner cutting back on player investment.
Lambert has still spent £40m – including £7m on Christian Benteke – but has shipped out many top earners such as Richard Dunne and Stephen Ireland and sent Darren Bent and Shay Given out on loan.
Should Lambert pledge his future to Villa assistant Ian Culverhouse and head of football operations Gary Karsa would also be in line for new contracts.
The trio arrived from Norwich in 2012 and have worked at Wycombe and Colchester together.
