Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has taken full responsibility for the club's relegation and insisted that he will give his all to regain their top-flight status.

The Villans dropped into the second tier of English football for the first time since 1987 following defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

Just three wins all season has left the West Midlands outfit in disarray, while events off the field have also boiled over with David Bernstein and Sir Mervyn King both resigning from the board earlier this week.

Lerner has come under increasing pressure to sell Villa due to the ongoing turmoil, and the American billionaire has now revealed that he will look to push through a deal after taking the blame for his side's relegation.

A statement on the Villans' official website read: "A nagging sense of inevitability set in against Leicester City despite the late lead we enjoyed. Can't say why although I doubt I'm alone... How many seasons after all can one hold on and hope to slide through? That is not Aston Villa. That kind of desperate existence is totally unacceptable, unbearable and totally incompatible with Villa's glorious past.

"That is not what, or why, I looked to get involved back then and it is why I've looked for some time to make a change. I can say certainly in good faith that I have tried to sell since my May 2014 announcement and put our beloved club in better suited hands - but that hasn't happened.

"I write to Villa supporters to make clear that this relegation lies at my feet and no one else's. And because I believe in Aston Villa and know it will come back stronger and more able, with love and care for the community it serves, with the edge and attitude it must have to represent our history and tradition.

"Memories of Acorns on the shirt, and Ashley Young scoring a late winner against Everton still romantically nourish me. I know Villa will return better, stronger. I will continue to try to put the club into worthy hands as I have, and also do my best to position Villa for the quickest possible return to its rightful place among England's elite."

A proposed sale of the club is thought to have moved a step closer on Thursday after a group of Villans-supporting businessmen were reportedly given access to the club's accounts, with talks between lawyers said to be ongoing at this stage.