Lambert pleased with pre-season trip

Manager Paul Lambert hopes that Aston Villa will be well prepared for the Premier League after a good pre-season training camp in Germany.

Villa drew all three of their matches during their week-long trip but despite not tasting victory, the 43-year-old Lambert is positive about their preparations for the new campaign and believes that they will see the benefits when the Premier League season kicks off in August.

After a tough start to his reign at Villa Park, Lambert will be looking to build on a strong finish to last season, as Villa took 17 points out of a possible 30 to ensure their place in the top flight.

The Scot knows that a settled pre-season campaign is vital and believes their opening encounters have given them the perfect start.

“It’s gone according to plan in terms of work ethic and trying to instill that mentality,” he told the club’s official website. “It’s gone good from that point of view.

“It’s been a really tough week, when you look at the training and the matches.

“We have come away undefeated from three hard fixtures.”

After 1-1 draws against Rodinghausen and Paderborn, the club’s final match of the tour saw another 1-1 draw, this time against Bochum.

Villa took the lead through new signing Nicklas Helenius but were denied a victory by the Bundesliga 2 side.

However, Lambert found plenty of positives from the match and the overall trip.

“It’s tough here, really tough,” he added. “They are tough games here. It’s a different type of football. But some of the stuff was very good.

“There were a lot of good things to take out of the trip.

“But we know we have a lot of hard work before we play that first game (in the Premier League).

“We have had a really tough eight days or so, with three games in six days. It’s really tough because it is not normal. The main thing is the fitness so you get to the point where things are natural.”