Stiliyan Petrov believes criticism of Gerard Houllier is unfair and says the Aston Villa players must be held accountable for their displays.
Houllier only took charge at Villa Park in September but has already come under considerable pressure following a disappointing run of results.
The Boxing Day defeat to 10-man Tottenham left Villa hovering precariously just four points above the relegation zone going into tricky fixtures against Manchester City and Chelsea.
However, Petrov does not think it is right that the manager is taking all the flak and insists it is the players who must shoulder the blame.
The Bulgarian midfielder has been impressed by Houllier over the past three months and is confident Villa can turn around their flagging fortunes.
"There are a lot of changes from last season so it will take a bit of time," he said.
"The manager is working the right way, he is demanding from the team and it is up to us to start performing.
"We are the ones to blame and we are the ones who must get us out of this situation. Why do you need to blame the manager?
"Sometimes when you don't expect to win you can pick up a result and that is what we have to think about with Manchester City.
"We have a capable team who can win anywhere. We need to worry about the way we are, not what Manchester City are doing."
