Sherwood has been praised for his good work by West Ham manager Sam Allardyce ahead of their two sides' meeting on Saturday

Villa have navigated themselves away from the Premier League relegation zone and reached the FA Cup final against Arsenal

Tim Sherwood has really turned around the fortunes of Aston Villa since replacing Paul Lambert the club's manager in February

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes there is a lot more to come from Tim Sherwood and has backed the Aston Villa manager to be a long-term success at his new club.

Villa have won six out of 12 Barclays Premier League matches since Sherwood replaced Paul Lambert in February, as well as beating Liverpool at Wembley to reach the FA Cup final.

The former Tottenham boss was criticised at White Hart Lane for being too open in his tactics and too brash with the media but Allardyce believes Sherwood has the personality to succeed.

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood is hoping to save the club from Premier League relegation this season

Sherwood, who took over at Villa in February, has overseen six wins from 12 Premier League games

Sherwood's record at Villa has earned him plenty of praise, including that of Sam Allardyce

'Sometimes you may make a mistake in your early days and you have to accept that and learn from that,' Allardyce said.

'Overall the job he has done at Spurs and the job he's doing at Villa, he seems to have rekindled a great energy and a great belief in the football club.

'That's not so much about tactics or your coaching methods, it's about how you handle players as a manager.

'Your coaching techniques are tactical yes, but coaching is only a small part of being a manager of a football club at this level.

'It's about motivating and rekindling confidence in your players in a difficult situation.

'At this moment in time, though they are not out of trouble, he seems to have done a good job in that way.'

Sherwood's criticism of his players and employers is thought to have been a key reason why he was not kept on at Tottenham beyond last season.

Allardyce, who is in his 24th year since first becoming a player-manager at Irish side Limerick, says it is important to be selective when attracting media attention.

'One big part of the job is what happens in your media portrayal,' Allardyce said.

'You have to live and learn that you're on the cutting edge.

'The more and more he gets used to experiences dealing with the media the better you become at it.

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke scores during his side's 3-2 win over Everton in the Premier League

Everton forward Romelu Lukaku (left) tussles for possession with Aston Villa's Jores Okore (right)

'We all make mistakes. He's speaking his mind, surely that's quite refreshing.

'As long he doesn't make it into controversy. That's where you have to be careful nowadays.

'Unless you want to be controversial to take the pressure away from your players, that's one tactic we all use when we manage at this level.'

Villa will be hoping to extend a two-point gap above the relegation places when they host West Ham on Saturday.