Clive Rose/Getty ImagesPaul Lambert can't stomach Villa's recent horrendous form.

The past week will have stimulated intense soul-searching for Paul Lambert, the Villa manager who finds his position under increased scrutiny following two cup exits in four days. But Lambert must sit tight, and his employers should resist the temptation for quick, reactive decisions, for a parting of the ways now will only prolong the agony of a club seriously struggling to define itself and retain its status as one of the Premier League's ever-present members.

-- Lambert defiant despite cup exits

It has been a difficult, excruciatingly disappointing and ultimately humiliating last few days for Lambert and Villa. Defeat to League Two Bradford Tuesday in the Capital One Cup was so numbing that going out of the FA Cup on Friday night, away to Championship club Millwall, barely registered on the hurt scale. It was almost expected.

In the days between the defeats, Lambert cut a troubled figure. The Scot's blunt, defiant public persona was replaced by a different character - tense, weary, a coach looking very much as if the will had drained out of him. He was originally not scheduled to attend Thursday's pre-match press conference - Ron Vlaar, Villa's captain, was to deputise. Lambert did take his seat, but his demeanor did nothing to ease the anxious mood of supporters.

"No, not really," he replied when asked if he was confident of signing any new players before the closure of the January transfer window. Pressed on what is a burning issue, he expanded to admit Villa had made enquiries about a few players, but that they were financially out of reach. Was the issue the transfer fee or the wages? "Both," was the rather gloomy response.

If Lambert was truculent pre-match, he was downright evasive post-match at The Den, as the media picked over the bones of the 2-1 defeat. He pointedly refused to answer questions from the Birmingham Mail's Villa correspondent. At loggerheads with the media who cover the club every day - not a good direction to take. As Friday night became Saturday morning, the rumours were in full swing: Villa's board had called an emergency meeting for 8.30 a.m. for 'crisis' talks. One of the wilder claims had Glenn Roeder, the former Newcastle manager and a scout for Villa during Gerard Houllier's tenure, stepping in until the end of the season.

With feelings running high, I can understand why some fans believe the club need to react to a worrying situation and make a change. My opinion is that starting again - again - would not be advisable. How can a club rebuild if the man in charge of the project is constantly being replaced, and the workforce to handle is consistently changing?

Villa have wasted transfer market millions not because they have bought poorly, but because former managers recruited players his successor has often not wanted. In January 2011, Houllier signed Jean Makoun (for £6m) and Michael Bradley, Bradley on loan with a permanent deal already in place. Alex McLeish replaced Houllier, chose not to complete the option on Bradley - currently one of the leading players in Serie A - and allowed Makoun to leave on a season-long loan.

McLeish signed Shay Given, giving the 35-year-old a five-year contract, paid £4m for Alan Hutton, and brought Stephen Warnock (signed by Martin O'Neill for £7m) in from the cold of reserve team football, where he had been by banished by Houllier. When McLeish moved on, one of the first things Lambert did was to relegate Warnock and Hutton to a life outside the first team. Given was demoted to goalkeeping No. 2 within a few weeks. Warnock, who has had four different managers at Villa, was used by two and all but ignored by two. He completed a free transfer to West Ham this weekend: from £7m England international to being given away for nothing.

All bad players? No, just some whose fortunes at Villa have altered because of a coach's interpretation of their ability. And if Lambert left now, or even at the end of the season? In all likelihood, the recycling would continue. Would the next coach decide Matthew Lowton, Joseph Bennett, Ashley Westwood, Christian Benteke are too raw for Premier League football? That it would to better to dump the promising talent and bring in seasoned stalwarts to paper over the cracks?

If a manager is hopelessly out of his depth, if there is a reason to question his pedigree, his qualification for coaching at this level, then yes, it might be time to take action. Lambert was brought in to oversee an overhaul of the squad; that kind of job doesn't come without difficulty, and it is not a project all managers would sign up for. It is not time to jettison the coach.

The environment in and around Villa Park is becoming claustrophobic, and Lambert is beginning to feel it. He won't have been in this position before, at the helm of a club for whom demotion from the Premier League is almost unthinkable. A victory would make a significant difference, and next up is a wonderful opportunity: Newcastle, a point above Villa in the table, at home on Tuesday.

The right result then would take just a little sting out of the situation, though it must be said, the last two 'six-pointer' matches at Villa hardly went to plan, with home defeats to Wigan and Southampton, and a not single goal scored across 180 minutes. I'd fear for Lambert if Tuesday's game goes against Villa.

Lambert has insisted that he's no quitter. I hope Villa don't give up on him either.

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