Monday 24 November 2014 19:07, UK
Paul Lambert is determined to lead Aston Villa into a successful new era as he prepares to mark his 100th game in charge.
The Scot has come through some testing times during his reign and Villa currently sit just above the Premier League drop-zone ahead of Monday Night Football's visit of Southampton to the midlands.
Since joining from Norwich in 2012, Lambert has won just 30 of his 99 games so far, losing 48 and drawing 21, but he is certain the club's fortunes will change in the near future after letting a bright start to the season slip.
"You have to earn the right to get up there. Teams and clubs will always go through difficult spells," he said. "If you look at Borussia Dortmund for example they beat Monchengladbach to come out of the bottom three.
"Nobody would believe that, how has that happened because if you look at the Champions League and they are absolutely flying.
"Teams have little ropey times they will come through.
"I think every football management job is hard, you don't have success all the time, it is like a bubble which appears now and again, then it goes away and you don't see it for a few years."
Seven games without a win have sent Villa slipping towards the bottom three and Lambert has demanded a response against Saints, who sit in second after a flying start.
"We have to do a lot better, this club is too big a club and too good a club to keep doing what it has been doing," he said.
"It has to get up there, it is too big this football club. You have to earn the right to get there and work your backside off to get there. It is not just going to come to you. You have to earn the right to get it.
"You want this place to be really vibrant every single week when you play home and away and you want to compete with everybody.
"It doesn't matter if you are playing top six you want to keep going high."
You can watch Aston Villa's Premier League clash with Southampton on Monday Night Football, starting at 7pm on Sky Sports 1HD.