Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert targets top-half finish

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert believes that his side are still capable of achieving a top-half finish in the Premier League this season.

Villa are currently 12th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone and six points below 10th-placed Stoke City.

"I think you always look above," Lambert told Villa's official club website. "To be ambitious you've always got to look at what's above you to try and catch the teams ahead.

"There's not much in that little group there with West Ham and Stoke.

"I also know it is a tough, tough league and you have to be right on it to get a result. Saturday's game [against Fulham] will be no different."

Villa have finished 15th and 16th in the past two seasons, but those campaigns were preceded by four consecutive top-half finishes.