Relegation scramble has Villa looking at drop zone

Supporters called for manager Alex McLeish to be sacked after Tuesday night’s 2-1 home defeat against Bolton, which left the Midlands club only three points above the bottom three, but the Scot insists he retains the support of club owner Randy Lerner.

Midfielder Warnock acknowledges Villa lack players who are used to being involved in scraps to survive at the foot of the table.

He said: “There’s only myself at Blackburn, James Collins at West Ham and Emile Heskey at Wigan who have been in this situation.

“It’s not a nice situation to be in. We need fighters now.

“The youngsters are learning the hard way but it’s not easy for the senior lads as well.

“With Blackburn a couple of years ago, we had to really fight for it.

“It’s a real test of character and we have to stand up and be counted now.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash at local rivals West Brom, Warnock said: “I wish the game was tomorrow and we’ve got to regroup.

“We’ve got to take the positives out of the Bolton game, learn from the mistakes and hope that will be enough to get us the win on Saturday.

“We need to go to West Brom with the belief that we can win the game.

“It’s a six-pointer again against Albion. It’s a huge game. It’s a must-win game and we’ve got to go there and win – it’s as simple as that.”

Villa went ahead through Warnock only to concede two goals in two minutes to Martin Petrov and David Ngog.

McLeish refuses to blame an over-reliance on young players because of a lengthy injury list – there were 11 academy products among the 18 players on Tuesday – for Villa’s plight.

He said: “When you are a young player just learning the game in the top division, you have to learn by making mistakes sometimes.

“But some experienced players have made mistakes this season as well and I can’t say it is because the kids are in the team because some have done so well the last few weeks.”

With Wolves already relegated, two out of Villa, QPR, Wigan, Bolton and Blackburn will join them in the Championship.

Relegation run-in

Aston Villa: West Brom (a), Tottenham (h), Norwich (a)

QPR: Remaining games: Chelsea (a), Stoke (h), Man City (a)

Wigan: Newcastle (h), Blackburn (a), Wolves (h)

Bolton: Sunderland (a), Tottenham (h), West Brom (h), Stoke (a)

Blackburn: Tottenham (a), Wigan (h), Chelsea (a)