Doomed Villa face huge challenge, says bleak Black

Former European champions sit 15 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table with five games left

Aston Villa will face a colossal task trying to return to the Premier League, caretaker manager Eric Black warned after Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth left the club on the verge of relegation.

The former European champions, who have sacked two managers and won only three league games this season, sit 15 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table with five games left.



"It is a massive, massive challenge for any club to go down. You've got that complete change of the expectation and the pressure," Black told British media. "Aston Villa now will be like Manchester United if they go into the Championship... It's a huge challenge but it's not an impossible challenge. It's a really tough division. So the squad has to be constructed properly."

Villa, seven times English champions, could be relegated before they face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday if Norwich City avoid defeat at home to Sunderland in the day's early fixture.