Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has hailed his young side after they moved to 40 points in the Premier League this afternoon with a 2-1 victory over Norwich City.

Gabriel Agbonlahor scored twice at Carrow Road to move Villa five points clear of the drop zone.

Lambert believes that his side's tremendous work ethic has helped them secure back-to-back victories and turn the relegation battle on its head.

He told the club's official website: "Our effort after playing on Monday night was outstanding. All credit to the team. We hung on and in the second half it could have been more.

"Gabby Agbonlahor has been playing excellently for us, he has the speed to hurt teams and power as well. We have to keep going but it's another huge, huge win. I knew how much effort we put into that game and some of the football was excellent at times.

"This team is getting better and better every single game. The best thing will be the mental side of the game and they are playing football that's worthy of staying in this league."

Villa now sit 13th in the table after pulling clear of the bottom three, moving above Lambert's former side Norwich in the process.