Randy Lerner wants to make Aston Villa one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League, new chairman Steve Hollis has said.

Villa, bottom of the Premier League and 10 points from safety, have been up for sale since 2014, but Lerner has been unable to attract a buyer.

He did, however, last week step down as chairman, leaving Hollis and chief executive Tom Fox in charge of the day-to-day running of the club.

“Technically any asset in the world is for sale at the right price,” said Hollis. “But Randy is pretty passionate about this place.

“He wants it to go to whoever takes it on in the right state and he was pretty blunt in his press statement that it’s not in the right state at the moment.

“He did say last May that if he can’t sell it he would put a structure in it to make it the right state. He wants to make this club one of the best-run in the Premier League.”

Villa are looking to strengthen their squad this month, with former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic the latest player linked, and Hollis says the decision on whether to sanction a purchase is no longer with Lerner alone.

“The board is now in charge of the stewardship of this company,” said Hollis. “As the chairman I must have a good relationship with the shareholders, but it will be the board that actually makes decisions.

“We will go through a proper process as to what we do and what we don’t do. That will include buying and selling players.

“Is it Randy or the board who signs off? It’s the board. It goes through a proper process and we deal with it accordingly.”

Hollis has warned that spending money does not guarantee success, however, adding: “Last summer this club was very ambitious and spent a lot of money on quite a few players.

“It’s not that easy. It doesn’t matter how much you go out and spend, unless you’ve actually got the business right, it’s not going to work.”