Paul Lambert has been sacked as manager of Aston Villa after a run of 10 winless games took them into the Premier League relegation zone, the club announced. Lambert, 45, took over at Villa Park in 2012 and led the Midlands club to 15th-place finishes in his first two seasons, but the former Scotland midfielder had come under pressure from fans following a poor run of recent form.

Villa recently went 11 hours without scoring a Premier League goal and supporters unveiled a banner calling for Lambert to leave during their 2-0 loss at fellow strugglers Hull City on Tuesday.

"The club would also like to place on record its thanks to Paul and take this opportunity to wish him every success in the future," Villa added.

"The club will announce a new manager in due course. There will be no further comment from the club at this stage."

The defeat at the KC Stadium saw Villa slip into the Premier League's bottom three for the first time this season, raising the prospect of a first relegation since the 1986-87 campaign.

Villa, European champions in 1982, made a strong start to the season, winning three and drawing one of their first four league fixtures, but have won just two of their subsequent 21 matches.

They were knocked out of the League Cup by third-tier Leyton Orient, but have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Lambert, who won the Champions League as a player with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, joined Villa after three seasons with Norwich City.

He is the fifth managerial departure of the current Premier League season, after Neil Warnock (Crystal Palace), Alan Irvine (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Pardew (Newcastle United) and Harry Redknapp (Queens Park Rangers).