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Alan Shearer reckons Randy Lerner’s lack of interest is to blame for Aston Villa’s fall.

The Premier League legend devoted his weekly column in the Sun newspaper to the struggling claret and blues and pointed the finger at Lerner for the four-season slump.

Shearer remembers when Villa were one of the top-flight giants under the ownership of Doug Ellis and he recalled how he used to relish an away day at Villa Park.

But watching on as a pundit he has seen a dramatic drop and he believes the only way back is if the club is sold.

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His comments come after a week of fan anger about the malaise at Villa Park, with Paul Lambert's side failing to score a goal in nearly nine hours of football.

Last week, we asked if it was time for Villa to bring an end to Lambert's reign with two thirds of votes on our online poll in favour of the manager paying the price for the team's poor results.

Look: Randy Lerner at Villa

“This is a club in stagnation,” Shearer said.

“Lerner’s ownership had started with great hope under Martin O’Neill.

“Sadly the American looks like he is not interested in the club any more and will offload it to the first person with a decent bid.

“They look like halcyon years under Doug Ellis now and to think he used to get merciless stick for not spending more and pushing the club further on.

(Image: David Davies/PA.)

“Looking back now Deadly Doug might have run a tight ship but it was always a steady one that invariably maintained its place at the very top table of the English game and competed in the cups.

“There was little doubt he always wanted the best for that club and felt he had left it in good hands.

“The investment came off at first as O’Neill banged on the door of the Champions League but once that did not open and relations between manager and owner evaporated it all melted away.

“It’s been downhill ever since and a net spend of £25million over the last three-and-a-half seasons is not going to fund any upturn.

“Who can save them now? There appear to be no takers.”