'Norwich are up to their necks in smelly stuff' - here are the national newspapers' views on Norwich City's 2-0 defeat away at Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The Daily Mail: 'In truth, this was a very poor game of football between two substandard Premier League sides. The first-half was as dire as anything witnessed in this stadium for a long while

'Norwich spent £24 million on new recruits in their desperate bid to avoid the drop, although it was hard to tell the benefit throughout this encounter.'

The Express: 'Struggling Norwich were wasteful in front of goal as Villa grafted their way to three points.'

The Sun: 'Norwich are up to their necks in smelly stuff, deep in relegation trouble, after losing five Premier games on the spin.'

The Telegraph described Norwich as 'abysmal'. 'A performance that should give hope to the other clubs battling relegation,' it added.

The Daily Mirror: 'Rudd stupidly came rushing out for second goal which was unnecessary.'

The Times: 'This latest performance, which allowed Aston Villa to record their third league victory of the season, was perhaps the most damning yet as Norwich slipped into the relegation zone.'