Micah Richards is refusing to throw in the towel, despite Aston Villa's deepening relegation worries.

Aston Villa's 2-0 defeat at West Ham on Tuesday night left them rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of safety, but skipper Micah Richards is refusing to be despondent.

"We have the fighting spirit," the defender told the club's official website.

"We have 14 games now and we will give 100 per cent until the end.

"Until it's mathematically impossible, I will not rule us out.

"We know it will be hard. I am a realist too. I think we need three wins on the bounce and then things start to change.

"Norwich is next up - a tough game at the weekend - and if we get three points there it will be a nice start.

"A lot of people have said that the players don't care. I think we showed at West Ham that we fight until the end - whether we have 11 or 10 men on the pitch.

"We did that. But unfortunately we didn't get anything out of the game."