Aston Villa caretaker manager Eric Black has insisted that the club have the players to make an immediate return to the Premier League, having seen their relegation confirmed this afternoon.
The Villans fell to their ninth straight defeat as Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game for Manchester United at Old Trafford, condemning the visitors to relegation from the top flight for the first time since 1987.
Despite the defeat, and the ramifications of it, Black described his side's performance as "outstanding" and confirmed that he would like to stay at the club and help them return to the Premier League.
"It's a mood of disappointment. What I will say is today I thought they were outstanding. Energy levels, desire to stick to the plan. But for some misfortune I thought we could have got a draw. Since I arrived the boys have been outstanding," Black told BBC Sport.
"I know there has been criticism, some of it deserved but today they made a step back for the supporters and showed there was some pride for the shirt. There are players in there capable of playing in the Championship.
"People in certain places will make sure that Villa will come back, I'm confident of that and that process has to start now. I would like to be part of it. I've enjoyed working at Villa and it's a fantastic club but that's not important at the moment."
Villa are now just two defeats short of the worst run in the club's history.
Barney Corkhill
