Aston Villa have been hit hard by cash losses.

Villa have lost a staggering £71.6million in two seasons since Martin O'Neill quit as manager.

Incredibly, the club's losses would have been nearly £100m without the intervention of much-criticised owner Randy Lerner.

Yesterday's accounts show the American REFUSED to take £20.3m due to him in interest charges after loaning the club £107.1m.

That allowed Villa to slash its overall loss year-on-year by £36.2m - from £53.9m in 2010-11 to just £17.7m last year.