Dion Dublin has laid responsibility for Aston Villa's struggles at the feet of the players and warned that they need to perform better or face being relegated.
The West Midlands outfit are 18th in the Premier League table and replaced former manager Paul Lambert with ex-Tottenham Hotsput boss Tim Sherwood this weekend.
Former Villa striker Dublin told BBC Sport: "The players need boundaries, they need to know what's correct and what the manager wants them to do.
He added: "Villa could quite easily go down. The players have got to go out and earn their corn."
Villa have scored just four goals in 2015 and only 12 in the Premier League all season.