Paul Lambert: Has been delighted by the progress Aston Villa have made under his successor, Tim Sherwood

Paul Lambert has no grudge against Aston Villa over his sacking and would love to see the club win the FA Cup.

The 45-year-old was dismissed by Villa in February with the club in the Premier League relegation zone and was succeeded three days later by Tim Sherwood.

Sherwood has since steered the club to the brink of safety, with the gap to the bottom three standing at four points with just two games left to play.

Lambert feels his record in reducing costs at the club stands up to scrutiny and says not enough people have been made aware of the financial constraints under which he was working at Villa Park.

Aston Villa lost £51.8m in the year ending 2013 and cut that to a £3.9m loss in 2014, a policy Lambert was happy to implement but which he was well aware would impact on results on the pitch.

"I wasn’t disappointed the decision was made but I was disappointed with how it was made," Lambert told The Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ.

“I don’t think it’s good when you’re getting a telephone call, I don’t think that’s the right way it should have been done.

“I was up in Scotland and I got a call at night and that was it. I have a good relationship with Randy Lerner and he’s a good guy.

“There was no problem on that front but it is a massive football club and everyone says we should be in the top six or seven but that could never have been sustained by doing what we were doing.

“The reality is it was never going to hit that height. In the Premier League you have to spend just to stand still and the club is financially stronger now.”

As well as almost securing Aston Villa’s Premier League safety, Tim Sherwood has also led the club to the FA Cup final for the first time in 15 years.

Lambert is delighted with the job the former Spurs boss has done as his replacement and would love to see Villa win the Cup later this month.

“I’ve got nothing bad to say about Aston Villa, it’s a brilliant football club and there is no animosity from me whatsoever,” he said. “I’m delighted that Tim (Sherwood) is doing well and hopefully they can win the FA Cup.

“I’ve always said they will stay in the league when everyone is fully fit and that is exactly what is going to happen.”