Relieved Sherwood eager to kick on

Tim Sherwood has expressed his pride at keeping Aston Villa in the Premier League and is determined to avoid another relegation scrap next season.

Hull City’s defeat at Tottenham last weekend ensured Villa retained their top-flight status despite being thrashed 6-1 by Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.

Sherwood was appointed as successor to Paul Lambert in February, when Villa were in the relegation zone after a dreadful run of form.

The former Tottenham head coach has guided the Midlands club into an FA Cup final against Arsenal as well as keeping them up and is eager to kick on in the 2015-16 campaign.

He said: “I’m looking forward to getting to know the players in an unpressured situation during pre-season.

“Now we must build over the summer and make sure that we’re stronger next season.

“Unfortunately this season we’ve had a lot of injuries in the defence. We got the job done.

“We’re relieved. It was a disappointing to lose the way we did at Southampton to say the least. I’d have taken a 10-0 bashing at Southampton if we were safe. We can be proud that we’ve stayed in the division.”

Villa host relegated Burnley in their final game of the Premier League season on Sunday, then face Arsenal at Wembley six days later.