Former Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has shockingly confessed to being happy when he was sacked by the club in 2015.
Lambert, who managed Villa from 2012 to 2015 during Randy Lerner's final years as owner, says he struggled with limited funds as the club was up for sale. Despite managing to keep the team afloat in the Premier League with two 15th place finishes, Lambert was shown the door following a defeat to Hull City.
At the time, Villa were flirting with the relegation zone and his own fan-base had turned on him, reports Birmingham Live, holding up banners demanding his sacking. Nearly 10 years later, the Champions League winner admitted he was relieved when the curtain was brought down on his time at the club.
In a candid chat on the Under the Cosh podcast, Lambert recalled a conversation with Walter Smith, the former Everton and Rangers boss. He said: "It's funny, I remember talking to Walter Smith.
"I met him at St. George's Park and I had been sacked by Aston Villa. He said: 'Paul, have you got a minute' and I said 'aye'. He said: 'How did you feel when you got sacked by Aston Villa?' I went: 'Well I was f***ing delighted. F***ing over the moon'."
Paul Lambert revealed the financial constraints he faced from the get-go after joining in 2012 following a successful stint with Norwich. The now 54-year-old said: "I knew the owner was going to sell the club and I was like: 'S***, Jesus, he's going to sell it'.
"I tried to get players to the club. I spoke to Romelu Lukaku when we first went in there. We agreed a deal with Chelsea on loan. He was only a kid at the time, he was only 19 years old.
"I spoke to him and he was like: 'Great, no problem, I'll come' and then we couldn't do it. I thought: 'Why couldn't Aston Villa do this deal? It's a big club'.
"And then, all of a sudden, the line is that the owner is going to sell it, so we had to cut the wage bill and we had to let players go, all those sorts of things. I was thinking: 'This is not what I want to do here'.
"But, you hang in there and think you're going to change it. Deep down, I knew it was borrowed time. I didn't think it was going to be f***ing as long as that."
After Lambert's departure, Tim Sherwood took the reins, managing to keep Villa afloat in the Premier League and leading them to an FA Cup final. However, his tenure was short-lived as he was dismissed with the team in 19th place just months later.
Remi Garde replaced Sherwood but had a brief and unsuccessful run, lasting only 147 days and securing just two wins in 20 Premier League matches.
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