Birmingham Mail: Paul Lambert is remaining coy about Villa's prospects of signing a striker - but admits his evolving team need to add a "finishing touch". Lambert has been linked with a host of frontmen during the summer transfer window, which now has 11 days to run until the August 31 deadline.

Birmingham Mail: Paul Lambert insists there will be "no blame culture" at Villa after warning his players they must take collective responsibility for results - win, lose or draw. Villa lost the manager's first match in charge after failing to sustain a bright start, lacking cutting edge and switching off for West Ham's winner just before half-time.

Birmingham Mail: Villa are a work in progress...And it's going to take more work before we see more progress - most probably on the training pitch and in the transfer market. If Paul Lambert, Randy Lerner, the players and the fans didn't realise that before - and they did - then they certainly know it now after a bubble-bursting opening day defeat at West Ham. It will take time to scrub away the stain of last season's struggles and although there were signs of improvement at Upton Park on Saturday, there were also signs that problems persist.

Guardian: For there was a sharp difference in style between this Villa and last season's plodders. At least their approach work was well-intentioned against West Ham and they passed the ball adroitly for long periods, enjoying the majority of possession. The problem is they did not do much with it, even after Kevin Nolan had poked the ball into the net from close range to give West Ham the lead.

The Sun: Paul Lambert has told Charles N'Zogbia and Stephen Ireland their slates have been wiped clean. Both Aston Villa winger N'Zogbia and midfielder Ireland had strain relationships with ex-boss Alex McLeish.

Mirror: Villa actually enjoyed more possession but failed to find their own player with 10 crosses - and provided Darren Bent with only three touches all game. Lambert admitted his side were missing the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor as Bent was left isolated.

Daily Mail: Despite the first-day defeat, the new passing style under Lambert offers cause for optimism at Villa Park. "We have got to give Darren Bent more service, because I thought we had a lot of the ball, especially in the first half-hour," said Lambert.

Independent: Nolan's goal came with a hint of controversy, with Aston Villa convinced Vaz Te had been offside when Mark Noble's free-kick fell to him. Assistant referee Simon Long initially raised his flag but then changed his mind and Villa's manager, Paul Lambert, accepted that it had been the right decision in the end.

Daily Telegraph: Most impressive for Villa was gutsy Holland international Ron Vlaar, a £3million investment from Feyenoord, who stuck doggedly to the task of marking Carlton Cole despite requiring a bandage for a head wound suffered early on.

*The extracts on this page are taken from various newspapers and media outlets. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Aston Villa.