Xia admits surprise at the difficulty of the Championsip

Aston Villa owner Dr. Tony Xia has admitted that the challenge his club faces is harder than he expected.

Speaking on his official Twitter account following the 1-0 defeat at home to Ipswich Town, Xia revealed that it’s taking longer than he expected to reach his goals at Villa Park.

Twitter: Every loss weakens the vitality,taking days2recover. But still need stay strongly. Harder than expected,longer than predicted 2achieve sth. (@Dr_TonyXia)

Steve Bruce’s side fell to 16th in the Championship following the defeat, the club’s first at Villa Park this season.

The defeat leaves Villa 16 points away from the play-off positions, meaning they’ll be facing another year in the English second division.

Bruce handed home debuts to the likes of Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury among others after the former Hull boss revamped his squad during the January transfer window.

The defeat means it’s no win in seven league games for Villa, who have registered a domestic win since back Boxing Day against Burton Albion.