Aston Villa January arrival Carles Gil is confident his side can secure Premier League survival under the guidance of Tim Sherwood.

Sherwood was appointed as Villa boss earlier this month following the sacking of Paul Lambert but he couldn’t stop the club’s winless run stretching to 11 games in his first game in charge, a 2-1 defeat at home to Stoke on Saturday.

Gil, who moved to Villa Park in a £3.2million move from Valencia in January, remains confident the Midlands club will return to winning ways sooner rather than later and insists Sherwood can lead Villa to safety.

“We are not going through an easy stage at the moment, but I have a lot of confidence in the team,” he told the club’s official website.

“There are some very good players here and I believe we will start winning matches and moving up the table. Having a new manager should make the team better because it’s a fresh start for everyone.”

Villa, who have managed just three points from the last 30 available, are currently second from bottom in the Premier League table but they are level on points with QPR, who occupy the final safe spot.

Gil’s side travel to Newcastle on Saturday as they bid to secure a first Premier League victory since December and halt a run of six consecutive defeats.

Villa are 3.91 to take all three points at St James’ Park and 2.25 to be relegated.