Following the resignation of Paul Lambert, amidst recent match fixing allegations, Aston Villa have announced his successor.

Martin Blessing will join Villa on a one year contract, reportedly to be worth £19,500 per week.

Blessing's arrival comes at a very awkward time for Aston Villa, having already seen the faith placed in Paul Lambert un-repayed, risking the clubs future and casting further doubts over whether they can maintain a Premier League status.

Blessing faces an extremely tough task at Villa, with it being good knowledge that the the club is very low on funding, meaning new arrivals would be kept at a minimum.

The Aston Villa faithful are also very sceptical regarding Mr Blessing's prior experience, claiming "he only got the job as he is good friends with Mr Lerner".

Despite the scepticism's, the decision has been made and the eyes of the Aston Villa faithful will certainly be on Blessing to see how well he adapts.

New Aston Villa manager Martin Blessing has not hesitated in declaring his interest in possible signings for the start of his Premier League campaign.

Franco Zuculini and Ivan Obradovic both top the list as possible targets for Blessing, following his recent arrival at Villa.

Zuculini, recently released by Zaragoza is an accomplished midfielder, with one cap for Argentina already, only being 22 years of age.

Having also been released by Zaragoza, Obradovic is seen to be the fix to Aston Villa's left back issue. With twenty caps for Serbia, Obradovic is clearly an accomplished professional.

Good luck!

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July 31st 2013 - 09:31

It's tough.

Really tough.

I've been brought in to do a job and my ultimate aim is to make sure Villa don't get sucked in to a relegation battle. Randy's on my case about "We don't have the necessary funding to help the situation"

I've dipped my toes in the free market and nothing has come up trumps. I even thought about bringing back a fan favourite in Darius Vassell, to help boost morale in the stands. Money obviously had more meaning to him than anything else.

Do I look to the under 21 squad? There's a bit of talent there, but surely nothing that will sustain a good run in the league.

I brought Clive Allen in to boost the regular training schedule. Hopefully this will prove well in the future.

I'm frightened for the first game of the season. Pre-season ain't been too bad, we've had some wins and Benteke has been firing them in, but our first game against Spurs isn't going to be easy.

Thoughts have been running around in my head about possibly taking up some of the interest in Delphy and Westwood. Would be a couple of million in the bank at least? Free up the wage bill slightly and get some tempting talent in the squad...

Try loaning someone maybe?! anyway, wish you good luck against Spurs!

Good Luck against Spuds!