Aston Villa's Paul Lambert: 'Premier League survival target less than 40 points'

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert believes that teams will need fewer than 40 points this season to secure Premier League safety.

The Midlands outfit have 34 points in the table following Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Lambert's men, who will take on struggling Fulham at the weekend, are currently eight points above the relegation zone.

"I don't think you'll need as many as 40 points with the way the league is," The Mirror quotes Lambert as saying. "You look at the fixtures everyone has got left and they're really tough.

"We'll try and win the next one and see what happens. We want to do it as quick as we can. We've got another big game next week against Fulham.

"I don't know how many it will take, but I'm not sure it will be as many as 40."

Cardiff City, Sunderland and Fulham currently occupy the bottom three places.