Paul Lambert is taking his former club Norwich City to a tribunal, seeking £2 million in losses over alleged breach of contract, Carrow Road chairman Alan Bowkett has revealed.

EmpicsLambert took over at Villa in the summer

• Blog: A daunting trip to Chelsea

Lambert left Carrow Road in the summer, after three seasons in which he guided the Canaries from League One to 12th place in the top flight, to take over as the manager of Aston Villa.

The manner of his departure was acrimonious, with the Scot reported to have resigned after being denied permission to talk to the Midlanders.

On Friday, he said he was "extremely disappointed" that remarks had been made about him by a senior City official.

Speaking at a forum in Norwich, Bowkett revealed: "He walked out on us - Aston Villa said he was a free agent so they are not paying us compensation, which we take issue with.

"However, interestingly Paul Lambert is taking Norwich City to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal and breach of contract, and he wants £1.5 million to £2 million from us. So we look forward to those tribunals.

"The manner of Paul Lambert's departure was no surprise, because he's walked out on every club he's ever managed. You can't complain, because you know what you're getting, but I felt he could have left in a more dignified manner."

But Lambert hit back, saying: "I'm extremely disappointed that senior officials at Norwich have made comments in relation to myself. I'll let him [Bowkett] say what he has got to say, and we'll see what happens.

"It will go before the Premier League managers' tribunal. The LMA [League Managers' Association] are acting on my behalf. They supported me at the time, and still are. What Norwich haven't made public is that they are suing me.

"It is disrespectful and wrong to that tribunal for me to comment any more. That's the way I'm going to leave it. My main concern is Aston Villa. Am I concerned Norwich fans are only hearing one side of the story? In a word, yes."

Aston Villa have declined to comment on the situation, and the matter is likely to take months to resolve.

Villa insisted Lambert, who has also managed Livingstone, Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester United, had resigned from his post at Carrow Road before they began talks with him, thus negating any need to pay compensation.

However, the Canaries, who replaced him with former Birmingham manager Chris Hughton, remain unhappy with the manner of his departure and are themselves prepared to seek a settlement fee at a tribunal.