Former Aston Villa star Ian Taylor taken aim at former manager Martin O'Neill.
The current Republic of Ireland manager resigned on the eve of the 2010 Premier League season as his relationship with owner Randy Lerner reached breaking point.
"The timing was wrong because it was right at the start of the season. I think that was it, the fans had really taken to Martin O'Neill and he could have been a real hero at Aston Villa," he said.
"I think he blotted his copybook leaving the way he did and it left a bit of a bitter taste in Villa fans' mouths because he left us in the lurch right at the beginning of the season. It didn't go down well.
"A lot of money was spent under Martin O'Neill on players and on big wages. Slowly the manager [Lambert] has got the big wages out of the club.
"There are still one or two left. He's had to lower the wage bill which means he has to go for a different kind of player.
"The last two or three seasons we've struggled but I think we've had to come to terms with the fact that we're not the team we were a decade ago. We're shopping in a different market for a different kind of player."
