Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has revealed that club chairman Randy Lerner has been trying to raise the players' spirits as they enter the final stretch of the season.

The Villains sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table, eight points above the drop zone.

"The chairman has been to the training ground quite a few times and he has been in a good mood," said Petrov.

"He has tried to give positives to all at the club. We hope that this year we'll be comfortable and next year we hope that we will kick off with a better start.

"At the end of the day we have a chairman who is trying to run his books. He knows what's right and wrong."

Villa have not secured a home win since early November.