Faulkner insists the ambition is still to challenge at the top level both in the Premier League and Europe. Villa have achieved three successive top-six Premier League finishes but are languishing in the bottom half of the table heading into the festive period. They have not spent any money on new signings in 2010, although Stephen Ireland was rated at £8million as the makeweight in the part-exchange deal that saw James Milner move to Manchester City in the summer. But Faulkner is quick to defend Lerner's transfer record. He said: "Randy is as dedicated as he's ever been towards Villa, absolutely. "When he bought the club, you knew you were going to have to pay the price to buy it and then spend on players initially over a number of years. "We've spent £140million on players and - net - it's still nearly £100 million. "Over the four and a half years Randy has been here, probably only Manchester City have spent more. "You've also got to spend on infrastructure which we did with redeveloping Bodymoor Heath [Villa's training ground] and in improving and upgrading parts of Villa Park." Faulkner added: "There is always an initial period of spending and then it settles down a bit. "But the ambition now is the same as it has always been - to be competing at the very highest level in England and Europe."
