Paul Lambert will be given resources in January to strengthen his Villa side.

Aston Villa's chief executive Tom Fox has revealed that Randy Lerner will be looking to invest in new players during the January transfer window.

Villa's chairman is understood to have found a new ambition for Paul Lambert’s side, despite putting the club up for sale over the summer.

Paddy Reilly has been drafted in as the club’s director of recruitment with the full backing of Lerner, who is willing to provide cash with long-term goals in mind.

"Randy is very realistic,” said Fox. "If there's someone in January we think can benefit us in the short term and the long term, then the owner is prepared to fund that.

If there's someone in January we think can benefit us in the short term and the long term, then the owner is prepared to fund that. Tom Fox

"I think he's much more confident in the process around identifying who that player would be and how that player would fit into the long term planning of the squad.

“The club had some success early in Randy's time here but actually it was playing in a bit of a false position because the league was already changing back then.

"Randy was spending money then but what he didn't have then was a line of sight as to 'if I spend that money how is it going to pay back in the future?'

"We didn't really have the set-up to really help us capture our commercial value at the time. That's different now."

Villa are enjoying good form as of late, going unbeaten in their last five games in the league and winning their last two.

Jamie Redknapp looks ahead to West Brom’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Jamie Redknapp looks ahead to West Brom’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

But with hopes of qualifying for next year’s Europa League competition, Fox underlined the importance of convincing club captain Ron Vlaar and Fabian Delph in pledging their future at Villa Park.

They have contracts expiring in the summer and negotiations are ongoing with two of the club's key players.

"We're talking to both players," Fox told the Birmingham Mail. "Ron has been fantastic for us. We're looking forward to him coming back and contributing. Our conversations with him are on-going.

"It's the same with Fabian. It was really unfortunate that he got injured in training because he was having an absolutely fantastic start to the year.

"We continue to talk with him. He's a great young player who has been with us for seven years."