Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesPaul Lambert's Aston Villa side needs to start picking up points before a tough Christmas stretch begins.

... which means 12 points from a possible 12, a major morale boost all round at Villa Park and a huge weight off the collective shoulders of players, management and fans heading into the Christmas period.

It may sound ambitious, even more so against the backdrop of what has been happening this season, but that has to be Paul Lambert's target over the next few matches. I'd like very much to imagine that the Villa manager has a large fixture wall chart displayed prominently in his office -- one of those where you can fill in the results as they occur -- and, if he has, I'd also like to think that he is standing in front of said wall chart right now, staring at his team's next four matches with an expression of gritty resolve on his face:

v Reading (H)
v QPR (A)
v Stoke (H)
v Norwich (A)

In each of those four games, Lambert, mentally, should have a large 'W' pencilled in alongside. Make no mistake about it, these four matches should all be viewed as winnable, and Villa's ultimate fate this season could well hinge on the points haul that the team can make over these games.

It starts with Reading this Tuesday night; Reading, who were unlucky to lose 3-2 at Wigan at the weekend, but who accompany Villa towards the bottom of the table. This is the kind of game that's tempting to refer to as a 'six pointer', so-called because not only would a Villa win earn three valuable points, it would also deny a near-rival three points too.

This Saturday's game at QPR is the same. The Londoners are stuck at the bottom of the league. Villa need them to stay there. The timing could be better; Rangers will be up for it now that Harry Redknapp has taken over as manager, but even so, he won't have had more than a few days to spread his influence, and Villa must capitalize on a team in poor form.

The next two games: Stoke and Norwich. Arguably tougher games on paper (not that Premier League matches are played on paper) than Reading and QPR, but not matches Villa should fear. Stoke will be robust and difficult -- they always are -- but Lambert's team are at home. At Norwich, the atmosphere will go up a notch with the Canaries bound to increase the pressure on their former manager. But while Norwich are cantering along reasonably well, I always feel they're a team you can get something from. Though, of course, that's what Manchester United would have thought a week or so ago, before they lost 1-0 at Carrow Road.

Can Villa win all four? There's nothing in the season so far to suggest they can, with just the two league victories to date (Swansea, Sunderland). But the weekend was a reminder of how valuable maximum points are, particularly at this stage. Whatever satisfaction Villa felt at taking a point from Arsenal was soon extinguished the following day when Southampton rolled Newcastle over, and pushed the Villans back into the bottom three.

A single point, here and there, is not enough now. Villa have ground to make up.

Neither Reading nor QPR nor Stoke nor Norwich will be easy opponents. Every week in the Premier League is competitive. But following a trio of games against both Manchester clubs and Arsenal, Villa may feel this next sequence of four at least provides a better chance of victory.

And, if further motivation were needed, take a look at Villa's games either side of Christmas: at Liverpool on December 15, at Chelsea on December 23 (Chelsea fans may have stopped Rafa Benitez long enough to let him do his job by then), and at home to Spurs on Boxing Day. Ouch.

Better to make hay while the sun shines, as they say. Or, more simply, get the points in the bag while you can, starting against Reading

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