Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner says he simply can't afford to shell out for the world's best players.

Asked how he would explain to fans about struggling to compete with Tottenham and Manchester City in the summer market, Lerner offered a simple reply.

"I'll tell the truth," he said. "We have tried to build this club in a steady, reasonable way and £30m players have not been part of that process, given the way we've done it, though it may be for other clubs.

"First thing you're gonna have is, 'What do you pay the guy?' as well as, 'Does it make sense in the dressing room and what are the other guys thinking?' It's just not consistent with anything we've done, certainly since I've been around. Secondly, to anybody who asked me I would simply say, 'I can't afford it'."

He added: "You've got countries going out of business, for God's sake. The financial crisis, broadly speaking, certainly impacted on me and us as a family. But it's had no bearing on the wherewithal or ability or commitment to continue to work for Aston Villa.

"And if I felt it had impacted on my ability to go forward, I would admit it and make plans to deal with it. I wouldn't like to think I'd be a person who would not say that and then go to sleep at night thinking, 'How do I live this lie?' Can I continue to grow the club and try to realise our ambitions? The answer is yes."