Aston Villa caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has said that the club must forget everything that has already happened this season if they are to turn their fortunes around.

MacDonald took charge of Villa on a temporary basis for the second time in five years last week after Tim Sherwood's eight-month reign was ended with his sacking on October 25.

In MacDonald's first match back in the dugout as manager, the Premier League's bottom side lost 2-1 at Southampton in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday, but the 54-year-old says that they must start again if they are to move on from a run of seven straight defeats.

"It is a case of changing it to say 'we start again'," he told Sky Sports News. "This is our first game of the season, we have 28 games in the season now.

"We need to get possibly 36 to 40 points. It is a big ask looking at the stats we have at the moment but we do not feel that it is impossible to do. It has to start on Monday.

"Whoever comes in now has 28 games. It is difficult but it can happen and I am sure it will happen. When the new manager comes in, I am sure he will get his ideas forward to them - sooner rather than later. It may be this week. If not, I am quite happy to wait around and keep the club going."

Villa face a trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night.