Villa have the pedigree to avoid relegation says Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Petrov today backed Villa to win their fight against relegation because they have big-game pedigree.
The former claret and blues midfielder expects Paul Lambert's side to survive one of the biggest drop battles for years.
Just eight points separate the 11th placed West Ham with bottom side Fulham. Villa sit four points above the bottom three, after last night's results and their 0-0 draw at Cardiff on Tuesday.
And Petrov, who retired last year after battling acute leukaemia, insisted Villa will maintain their top flight status.
"The players, the manager, everybody at Aston Villa and the fans believe they have got the class to stay up," said the 34-year-old, who made 219 appearances and scored 12 goals for Villa.
"They proved that last season. Obviously the club took a different path in the last two seasons, they've brought in a lot of young players and a lot of inexperienced Premier League players and it's really difficult for them.
"That will take time. At Cardiff, it was not a surprise because every club down the bottom is fighting for every single point and that's going to be from now until the end of the season."
Villa do not play again until they visit Newcastle in 10 days and are heading to Portugal for a training camp.
They also have to face Norwich, Swansea, Hull, Stoke, Fulham and Crystal Palace in the bottom half.
And Petrov believes Villa know how to handle the pressure after last season's dice with the drop.
He said: "Every single point will be important from now until the end of the season. What Villa showed last season was great strength and courage.
"They went on an incredible run at the end of the season and they stayed up. All the other teams know Villa are capable of doing that and I think the players know that.
"At the end of the day the Villa have shown that every time they are under pressure they go and perform, so I think it will be exciting for the fans and the club for the next few weeks and months."
