Petrov offers no excuses

Stiliyan Petrov admits Aston Villa only have themselves to blame for their ongoing troubles.

A 4-0 defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday cast Villa deeper into the mire, with just three points taken from their last six games.

They now find themselves firmly entrenched in a relegation battle, with recent showings offering little to suggest that a clamber up the table is on the cards.

Club captain Petrov accepts that performances have been lacklustre of late and insists it is up to the players to dig themselves out of a hole.

In the aftermath of another disappointing afternoon at Eastlands, he told the club's official website: "It was not good enough, obviously because we lost 4-0. We started and without them really creating anything we conceded two goals.

"They were two easy goals and when you go down 2-0 it is hard to come back.