PAUL Lambert is priming his Aston Villa players for a "cup final" against Hull Citythat could secure the club's Premier League status.
The under-pressure manager was far from downbeat following his side's 4-1 defeat to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
He felt his team had performed well for more than an hour, before the hosts pulled away with goals from Pablo Hernandez and an injury-time Wilfried Bony penalty.
The heavy loss, which capped a run of only one point from the last 18, left Villa in 16th, only four points above the relegation zone. And with daunting trips to title-chasing Manchester City followed by Tottenham to round off the season, Lambert knows next week's clash with the Tigers at Villa Park could prove crucial.
"Next week's game is a cup final," he said.
"That's it, in a nutshell."
Villa and Lambert were booed by their travelling support at the end of the game. But Lambert said he will shoulder that criticism and is expecting the claret and blue faithful to be fully behind their team for the crunch game.
He added: "If you ask any football person – if your destiny is in your own hands, you take it. You don't want to rely on anybody else."
