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Villa must handle relegation dogfight pressure - Sherwood

Football - Newcastle United v Aston Villa - Barclays Premier League - St James' Park - 28/2/15 Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic

LONDON (Reuters) - Aston Villa players must accept and cope with the pressure they are under as they battle to retain their Premier League status, manager Tim Sherwood said on Monday. Sherwood has overseen two defeats since taking the job and Villa lie second from bottom with 11 matches left, putting their 27-year stay in the top flight in peril heading into Tuesday's home game against West Bromwich Albion. "The pressure should be on them already. If they are not feeling the pressure being second bottom of the league, playing for a massive club like Aston Villa then something is seriously wrong," the new manager told a news conference. Villa took the lead against Stoke City before losing 2-1 to a last-gasp penalty and they went down 1-0 at Newcastle United on Saturday. "I was far more encouraged in the Newcastle game than Stoke but that's because I've had more time," Sherwood said. "Zero points could have easily been six, it could have been four. We have to bounce back and get points as soon as we can." Villa have scored only 13 league goals in 27 games this season, nine fewer than any other Premier League team. They are one of only seven clubs to play in the Premier League every season since it started in 1992 and their 103 top-flight campaigns is second only to Everton's record of 111. (Reporting by Ed Osmond, editing by Tony Jimenez)