Keith Wyness: Aston Villa will support Steve Bruce 'come what may'

A dire run of seven defeats in eight Championship matches has left Villa just six points above the drop zone and increased the scrutiny on Bruce, who became the club's fifth permanent boss in 20 months when he replaced Roberto Di Matteo in October.

Speaking during a phone-in on BBC Radio WM on Friday evening, Wyness insisted there was "no question" of Bruce's position being under threat and when pressed, claimed the 56-year-old would remain in charge even if Villa were relegated to League One at the end of the season.

"There is absolutely no question we are sticking with Steve," he said. "Although results have not been to our liking, for all of us, including Steve, we have been really happy with the way he has come into the club and is shaking things up at Bodymoor Heath.

"The way he is trying to deal with the slump shows the character of the man. We want stability at Villa and we will have that with Steve. We are going to go forward with him come what may."

When asked if Bruce would remain in charge even if Villa were relegated, Wyness replied: "Yes. There is no doubt. We have to build and Steve is the man to do that."

A seven game unbeaten run following Bruce's appointment saw Villa climb into play-off contention but they have fallen away dramatically.

Their last win came on Boxing Day and they head into Saturday's home game with Derby on a five-game losing skid, the bad run coinciding with a busy January transfer window which saw eight new arrivals at Villa Park.

Wyness, who joined the club last summer following Tony Xia's £76million takeover of the club, believes Bruce will in time deliver the stability lacking in the seasons leading up to last year's relegation from the Premier League.

"There is stability behind the scenes and we will create stability with Steve being there for a while," he said. "My own view is that we have had five managers who have each had one transfer window. It has created a hotch-potch of a squad where each manager tried to change things.

"I think we saw when Steve came in we got a decent run going. I think he will admit himself we moved too quick to make things better.

"We were too quick to move the new signings in. He may admit himself there was a misjudgement in that."

Wyness also sought to soothe fears Villa, who have signed 16 new players at a net cost of close to £40million since relegation from the Premier League last summer, might be at risk of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

He said: "Being in the Championship means we have to handle FFP. We were aware it from day one. We know the things we have to do to avoid any penalties. We are managing within those boundaries.

"It's my job to plan ahead if we have to be in the Championship for two or three seasons. Of course I don't want to be there for that long but we have to take everything into account."