Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert hailed the courage of his young team for the manner of their victory at Stoke City.

The Villans never panicked as they outplayed Stoke 3-1.

Lambert said: "I think they play without a fear. There are some really terrific footballers at the club, really good.

"We try to play football the right way. If you can play without fear and freedom it will certainly help you. There is a lot of momentum there, I think we have had it since the turn of the year.

"I know results haven't always gone our way but I think we have been playing really well.

"I thought we could have got a point from Liverpool and that shows how far we have come in a short space of time.

"If we come through this we will be so much better for this."