ASTON VILLA boss Paul Lambert has extended his contract at the Midlands club until June 2018.

The former Celtic star had two difficult seasons at Villa Park after joining from Norwich City in 2012, with the team twice finishing 15th in the Barclays Premier League.

But they have made an excellent start this term, with three wins and a draw in their first four games.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat of Liverpool at Anfield took them into second place in the league behind Chelsea.

Lambert said: "I'm delighted to have the support of our chairman, Randy Lerner, and our new chief executive, Tom Fox. I'm determined we'll continue building the club to where we want it to be.

"This is a massive club, a fantastic club. I knew the first two years would be tough but we have made progress and now we're beginning to see the benefits of that hard work.

"We are in a much healthier position on and off the pitch and, with a continued sensible approach, we believe we're on the right road to build on the strong start we've made this season."

The 45-year-old Scot, who also played for St Mirren, Motherwell and Borussia Dortmund, added: "We can look to the future with real optimism.

"On a personal note, I'd like to express my thanks to the chairman for his continued support and to the fans who have been really supportive towards myself, the staff and, most importantly, the team."

Villa supremo Fox said Lambert had established a strong platform on which the club intends to continue building.

He added: "Paul and Randy had been discussing this move when I came on board and we concluded our agreement last week.

"Paul is completely integrated into our plan to manage the club carefully and ambitiously back to a position appropriate to our history and collective expectations."