Joleon Lescott: Foundations at Aston Villa are wrong

Joleon Lescott believes Aston Villa's struggles this season are because "there is something wrong with the whole foundations" of the club.

And the defender, in an interview with The Times, has revealed he had an offer to leave the club to join Los Angeles Galaxy in the January transfer window but turned it down because he feels a responsibility to help Villa fight for their Premier League place.

Lescott has faced some stern criticism in the past weeks after he accidentally tweeted a picture of a £120,000 Mercedes car shortly after his side's 6-0 home defeat to Liverpool.

Regarding that, Lescott said: "For me to accidentally tweet a picture is not the biggest crime that a footballer has ever committed. But I can understand the feeling of the fans who feel let down."

Villa face a major challenge if they are to retain their top-flight status this season; they are bottom of the Premier League and eight points adrift of safety with 12 games left to play.

Lescott is a staunch supporter of both manager Remi Garde and owner Randy Lerner, and says no single party is directly to blame for the club's poor season.

There's something wrong with the whole foundations, team, players. Is it one person's fault? No.

"He [Garde] is calm," Lescott said. "He's lost it a couple of times. He's trying to create a non-French-speaking environment, the reason why he hasn't lost it as much as he wants is because he doesn't know enough bad words in English.

"It [the dressing-room language] is an issue but it's not the reason why we are bottom. There's something wrong with the whole foundations, team, players. Is it one person's fault? No.

"It's unfair that fans chant they want the chairman [owner Randy Lerner] out. We're the ones playing. He's very calm, a very nice man. It's a shame."

Lescott wants to remain at Villa for the duration of the current campaign and does not feel it would have been right to "jump ship" from the club he supports when they are in their hour of desperate need.

"I'm a Villa fan, and defeats and bad performances are hard to take - it hurts," he said.

"There was some genuine interest from LA Galaxy in January. But for me to jump ship, I don't want that to be my legacy. I'd prefer us to go down and me be a part of that than, 'Oh, he left in January, spent six months and felt it was not his responsibility'."