AS relegation from the Premiership looms, legendary Birmingham football club Aston Villa has confirmed it will be making redundancies.

A statement from the club said it has updated all staff on the proposed changes to its structure, which has been made in a bid to "put it back on a firm footing".

The statement added: "These changes will result in a headcount reduction but every effort will be made through a voluntary scheme, to mitigate as much as is possible, the need for compulsory redundancies. The objective is to secure a sound financial platform from which the club can rebuild for the benefit of the fans, staff and sponsors. We recognise this is an extremely difficult time for all staff and the club will offer support to all staff affected."

Pre-tax losses widened significantly at Aston Villa in the year to May 31 2015, after what the club described as its "worst" on-field performance since the creation of the Premier League. Results filed under Reform Acquisitions Ltd showed a pre-tax loss of £27.8m, compared with a loss of £3.9m in 2014.

The club is currently bottom of the league with only 16 points from 33 games.