London: Aston Villa Paul Lambert has been fired after the team dropped into the relegation zone of the English Premier League. Villa slipped to the 18th in the 20-team league following five straight defeats, reports Xinhua. Lambert, a Champions League winner as a player with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, took over at Villa in June 2012. He was sacked Wednesday. After Lambert’s departure, first-team coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall will prepare the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Leicester. (IANS)