Sacked Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood insists transfer policy was taken out of his hands.

The ailing Midlands club spent £52.5million on 12 new players and Sherwood's disagreements with the policy of buying mainly youngsters was among the factors leading to his sacking last month.

Speaking for the first time since his dismissal, he revealed on Dubai-based TV station BeIN Sports: “There was a committee, which I was part of — so I had a say in the players I wanted to bring into the football club.

“We ended up signing 12 players, although there was a lot more players given to the committee than 12, and we ended up with what we ended up with.

“I believe that those players in time will be good players for the football club, but when you bring in a lot of players from other countries that have not played and experienced the Premier League before, the competitive nature of it, it is going to take time.

“I certainly had a say, but the final say? It was more of a combined collective decision and ultimately the man who puts his hand in his pocket is the one who has to make that decision.

“Randy Lerner has spent an awful lot of his money at that football club for a long, long period of time."