Paul Lambert has revealed that he spoke to three quality strikers during his time in charge at Aston Villa.

The Scotsman, now in charge at Blackburn Rovers, wanted Villa to go after at least one player who would breathe life into the West Midlands during his time at Villa Park between 2012 and 2015.

Lambert told the Daily Express that he indeed held plenty of interest in Everton star Romelu Lukaku, Manchester City's Wilfried Bony and Borussia Dortmund ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but club owner Randy Lerner was not so keen.

The 46-year-old also says he offered to leave his post at Villa due to the fact that he was not offered support by the club's hierarchy during an uncertain time.

"I offered to resign at the end of my second season at Villa Park," he said. "I knew I wasn't going to get money to spend so I thought, 'ok, let me resign then'," he said.

"Randy Lerner said, 'No.' He wouldn't accept it.

"I knew that the club needed big players to come in and we couldn't go and get them. I remember speaking to Lukaku when I first went there.

"I spoke to Bony in one window. I actually spoke to an agent from France about Aubameyang now at Dortmund. He was at St Etienne and we made contact.

"It was players like that that I wanted to try and bring in but we were never going to get them. It is a brilliant club but I always think a team that has won the European Cup should not be in the position it is in.

"I had had enough because I was taking the hit for everyone and there were only so many hits I was willing to take before I came back fighting. So the easiest thing for me was to say, 'nae problem. I'll go, nae problem.'

"But he (Lerner) said, 'no, no' and there were so many things going on. (There was talk of) a takeover, things were going back and forth but I did offer to resign after my second year."