Aston Villa captain Micah Richards says they need to find a nasty streak.

He believes the squad is "too nice", "too easy to play against" and thinks some team members are already eyeing moves away if the club is relegated this season.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, we've got too many nice players and we're too easy to play against," Richards told The Telegraph. "Everybody seems to be – I wouldn't say passing the blame – but they don't want to run that extra mile and take responsibility.

"When we've got the ball we're fine but defensively we're too nice and it's too easy to get past us. We haven't got the players who have the mentality to not lose the game.

"There's a few good players in the team and they're probably thinking, 'If Villa get relegated I'll get a move in the summer' – but it doesn't work like that any more."