Former Aston Villa finance director Mark Ansell has claimed that the Championship club had "gone to the casino, rolled the dice and it hasn't worked" in their failed bid to return to the Premier League.

The Villans will spend a third successive season in the second tier following last month's playoff final defeat by Fulham, after which manager Steve Bruce warned that there might be "difficult times ahead".

Multiple reports have suggested that Villa are at risk of administration due to huge investment in player wages and more than £70m in transfers in just two seasons, though a report on Wednesday evening has claimed that an agreement has been reached between the club and HMRC to stave off creditors for the time being.

"You have to question the management of the club," Ansell told BBC Sport.

"The Revenue would have looked at the playoffs as a 'get out of jail free' card. When they didn't win that promotion, they would then have been questioning whether or not they could get their money.

"Villa have gone to the casino, they've rolled the dice and it hasn't worked."

Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has officially insisted that the club is not for sale, but reports have suggested that he is attempting to bring in new investors and would be prepared to sell in a cut-price deal.