Aston Villa still uneasily close to bottom three

The struggles for Aston Villa this season started before a game was played and they are still in a really dangerous position under Gerard Houllier. The club sit only three points above the relegation places and fit the old adage of 'too good to go down', but are they?

When Martin O'Neill quit Villa Park five days before the season started it sent a shockwave throughout the club, and while Kevin MacDonald did well to keep the seat warm he never really inspired. When former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier arrived it was expected that Villa's faltering start would turn around, but things did not turn out as planned and they went into freefall.

Despite achieving some notable results this season Villa still sit 15th in the Premier League table and are only three points ahead of Wigan in 18th. The Midlands club are priced at 14/1 to actually drop out of the division this season but Houllier will be hoping his big-spending in January can transform their fortunes.

For the first half of the season Villa's main problem was scoring goals, so the boss went out and spent £24 million on Darren Bent. Many eyebrows were raised when the England man left Sunderland to join the struggling Villa but there is no doubting his quality and his career statistics show what a goalscorer he is.

The arrival of Jean Makoun, Michael Bradley and Kyle Walker all bolster the squad Houllier has at his disposal and should ensure he does not have to rely on youngsters as he did earlier in the season.

But Villa need to start winning games as they have tasted victory only seven times this season and, even since the arrival of Bent, they have drawn too many games and are failing to turn one point into three-point hauls.

Houllier has a wealth of talent at his disposal at Villa, something their relegation rivals such as Wigan and West Brom could only dream of, so it would not be a surprise to see them climbing the table. However the fact they have remained in a battle near the bottom for so long shows that something is not right at Villa Park and the Frenchman is 25/1 to be the next Premier League boss to lose his job.

There are not many football fans who truly see Villa as relegation candidates this season it is likely that the signing of Bent could turn out to be the best bit of business done in January if he gets the goals to five the club to safety.

The English core of Villa that includes Bent, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor should provide the real catalyst as they are capable of troubling even the best Premier League defences on their day.

Villa need to get points on the board sooner rather than later and the fact they sit only three points behind Stoke in tenth spot shows how tight the Premier League is and how far a few wins could take Houllier and his side.