Former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish believes that a "weak" squad contributed to the Scotsman's downfall at the Midlands club.
The 53-year-old was dismissed from Villa Park a fortnight ago following a disappointing campaign in the Premier League.
"I knew what I was taking on and at the end of the day it was quite a tough one, but staying in the Premiership was absolutely vital to Villa," said McLeish.
"We lost the same number of games as Liverpool, but the statistic that went against us was too many draws, in terms of climbing up the table.
"At the end of the day, I felt that the squad was quite weak, quite thin experience-wise, and that could always be a problem."
Villa won just seven matches and drew 17 during the season.
