Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has admitted that his side's poor record at home this season has been unacceptable.

Villa slumped to their 10th home defeat of the season at the hands of struggling Fulham yesterday, with the final whistle being greeted by a chorus of boos from the home fans.

Lambert acknowledged that his side needed to improve at Villa Park and challenged his players to rise to the occasion of performing in front of the club's big fan base.

"We can't keep doing this. We have to rectify the home form, there's no two ways about it. Away from home, it's well documented we've had our best performances, but you can't keep losing at home," Lambert is quoted as saying by PA.

"You have to see a game through. We know the size of this fan base. They won't accept us sitting behind the game. I would rather try to win a game than not.

"There's no rocket science formula. You have to win football matches, keep a clean sheet and thrive on the atmosphere generated. It takes big players to play in front of a big fan base."

The defeat leaves Villa seven points clear of the relegation zone, although they do have a game in hand over two of the bottom three.