Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has expressed his belief that Christian Benteke showed promise during Saturday's defeat to Newcastle United.

Sherwood's second game in charge of the team since taking over from Paul Lambert resulted in a 1-0 loss, and the 46-year-old is yet to taste victory with the Midlands side.

Benteke has been struggling to find the goals of late, but Sherwood is confident that the striker will get back to scoring ways.

"I thought Christian was good," Sherwood told the club's official website. "He had the overhead kick and had other chances. There was one where it came across the box and he should have gambled.

"So he could have had two goals and been on a winning team. It's fine margins. He needs a goal, but I thought he worked the channels well."

Villa are second from bottom in the Premier League table with 11 games left to play.