LONDON: The crisis at Aston Villa has continued to deepen, two days after the confirmation of relegation, with the resignation from the board of newly-arrived heavyweight directors David Bernstein and Lord Mervyn King

Their exit threw further weight of failure back on to absentee owner Randy Lerner.

Former FA chairman Bernstein joined in March among structural changes which included the return of former manager Brian Little. Chairman Steve Hollis had brought in life-long fan Lord King, the former governor of the Bank of England, in February.

Bernstein, pulling no punches in a resignation letter, said: “The issues at the club are fundamental and the solutions are radical and do not lend themselves to compromise. Unfortunately it had proved impossible to implement the agreed structure and my position has quickly become untenable.”

An Aston Villa club statement said Little would continue to advise chairman Hollis on “football-related matters”, while a search for a new manager “remains a priority”.

It added: “It is with regret that Aston Villa Football Club today announces the resignations of Mervyn King and David Bernstein as directors of the club. The club would like to thank both for all their efforts throughout their short time as members of the board.”

Bernstein, 72, also spent five years as Manchester City chairman and said he was brought in to review the “football side of the club” at Villa.

#########