Paul Lambert Fired by Aston Villa: Latest Details, Comments and Reactions

The Paul Lambert era finally came to an end for Aston Villa on Feb. 11, as the club officially parted ways with their longtime manager after a dreadful stretch of results in the past months.

Aston Villa announced the news on their official website:

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Aston Villa Football Club has parted company this evening with manager Paul Lambert.

First-team coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall will continue to prepare the squad for Sunday's FA Cup tie with Leicester City at Villa Park.

The club would also like to place on record its thanks to Paul and take this opportunity to wish him every success in the future.

The club will announce a new manager in due course.

There will be no further comment from the club at this stage.

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On Feb. 12, Lambert released a statement on his departure, via LeagueManagers.com:

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I am extremely proud to have managed Aston Villa, a founder member of the Football League, and this sentiment will always remain with me.

My initial remit was to conduct a massive overhaul of the playing squad, lower the overall wage structure of the playing staff and achieve this whilst keeping the club in the Barclays Premier League.

There was also a concerted effort to purchase and develop younger players who would provide a solid footing for the football club to move forward and enhance the value of the playing squad in the future.

When I came on board the club's owner, Randy Lerner, warned me that I was embarking on the toughest challenge of my working life and he was not wrong.

But  I have never stepped away from hard work and I put my heart and soul into the job from my first day until my last.

[...]

I completely understand their frustrations and always shared their view that the football club is too big not to be competing at the top end of the table. I hope that can happen.

You never stop learning in football management and I certainly believe the invaluable experience from my time as Villa manager will prove hugely beneficial in the next stage of my managerial career.

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He also thanked Randy Lerner, Paul Faulkner, the coaching staff, Villa supporters and more in the statement.

On Feb. 12, John Percy of the Daily Telegraph reported that Lambert was sacked over the phone, rather than in person:

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Lambert was left stunned after receiving a call from chief executive Tom Fox on Wednesday afternoon informing him he was to be dismissed after two-and-a-half years.

Telegraph Sport understands the 45-year-old was shocked that Fox did not agree to meet face-to-face and his disappointment was reflected in his statement issued by the League Managers Association.

The statement did not mention Fox, who was appointed in August, it is believed Lambert felt he deserved more respect after completing over two years of service.

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The Villans have hovered around the relegation zone for the last several weeks and are one of the worst scoring teams in Europe, leading to plenty of calls for his head since the start of 2015.

Andy Gray told talkSPORT he was sure the club would be relegated to the Championship if they moved forward with Lambert at the helm:

The Birmingham Mail even started an open campaign to have him sacked, and their readers were unanimous in their views on the matter, via Eurosport.com:

The 45-year-old signed a new contract in September, but as shared by Football365's Daniel Storey, Villa's struggles started long before then:

A failure to bring in significant upgrades in the January transfer window, apart from Carles Gil, likely signaled the end for Lambert, who had been in charge of the club since 2012.

Villa will likely announce Lambert's replacement as soon as possible, in an attempt to limit the damage and find some momentum in the battle against the drop.