Paul Lambert confirmed as new Aston Villa manager after agreement reached with Norwich City After three successive top-six finishes under Martin O'Neill, Villa have dropped too close to the Premier League bottom three for comfort. Gerard Houllier replaced O'Neill but had to quit last summer on health grounds, while former Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was never accepted by the Villa fans. Lambert fits the profile of being a relatively young, hungry and ambitious manager after working his way through the lower leagues before transforming Norwich's fortunes. That is certainly the feeling of Villa midfielder Barry Bannan, who said before Lambert's appointment: "He has done very well with Norwich and the clubs he was at before then. He has a good record up until now so hopefully if it is Lambert he can be as successful with us as he has with his previous teams. Obviously last season wasn't the best for a team as big as us. We should have been way higher up the league and I think (the board) see Lambert as an up-and-coming manager that is doing really well, so it is going to be a massive lift for everyone, the fans and the players as well. It is a fresh start for everyone again and hopefully in pre-season everyone is going to have a chance to prove their worth to the club. Lerner also held talks with former Manchester United star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but he opted to stay at Molde in Norway for family reasons, although he was not formally offered the Villa post. Villa also spoke with advisors of Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, who rejected the chance to replace Houllier 12 months ago. But Wigan owner Dave Whelan claimed Martinez, who held talks with Liverpool, was staying put. It is believed Lambert will be given money to spend after McLeish spent last season reducing what he described as an "astronomical" wage bill. Lambert will also be able to use the money he generates from the sale of current Villa players.