Former Norwich City manager Paul Lambert 'parted company' with Aston Villa last night.

Lambert left Carrow Road for Villa in the summer of 2012 after three years of rapid success with the Canaries, guiding the club from League One to the Premier League with successive promotions.

But following a poor run of results, which have left Villa in the bottom three of the Premier League, the club announced they have parted company with the 45-year-old Scot.

A statement on Villa's official website said: 'Aston Villa Football Club has parted company this evening with manager Paul Lambert.

'First-team coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall will continue to prepare the squad for Sunday's FA Cup tie with Leicester City at Villa Park.

'The club would also like to place on record its thanks to Paul and take this opportunity to wish him every success in the future.

'The club will announce a new manager in due course. There will be no further comment from the club at this stage.'

Lambert led City to 12th place in their first season back in the Premier League but decided to leave the club after Alex McLeish left Villa, sparking an acrimonious compensation battle between the Canaries and the Villains.

His first season at Villa Park ended with a 15th-place finish, just five points clear of the relegation zone, as City finished 11th under new manager Chris Hughton.

Last season also saw Villa finish 15th and five points clear of relegation – as City were relegated – but after last night's 2-0 loss at Hull City saw the Birmingham club drop into the bottom three, the pressure on Lambert's position increased hugely.

The former Celtic midfielder signed a new four-year contract with the club in September but has since lost 13 and won just two of the 21 Premier League games which followed.

Lambert also took assistant Ian Culverhouse and director of football operations Gary Karsa with him to Villa Park but the duo were sacked last summer following an internal investigation into disciplinary issues.

Former Canaries midfielder Tim Sherwood has been installed as the early favourite by bookmakers, after his talks with QPR about their vacancy collapsed earlier this week.

For now it is former Norwich goalkeeper Andy Marshall assisting with first-team matters though.

The 39-year-old retired at the end of last season following a career which started with over 200 appearances for the Canaries, before he controversially switched to Ipswich Town on a free transfer, as well as playing for Millwall and Coventry.