Aston Villa have taken seven points from their first nine matches in charge of Aston Villa.
Paul Lambert has told Sky Sports News that Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce will have given the squad confidence.
Bruce has made a positive start since taking over from Roberto Di Matteo at Villa.
The claret and blues made a poor start to the new campaign, and they won just one of their first 11 matches.
However, Villa have taken seven points from the three matches that Bruce has been in charge for.
The Midlands side have beaten Reading and Preston North End in their last two outings.
And former Villa manager Lambert said: “I don’t think he’s changed too much. He will have put an arm around them and given them some confidence. He’s been around a lot of clubs and knows the game well. His personality is probably reflecting on the team at the minute.”
Villa have now moved up to 16th place in the Championship, and they have closed the gap to the play offs.
Bruce’s side’s next match will be a major test of their character, though, as it comes against Birmingham City at St. Andrews in the Midlands derby.
If Villa can win against their rivals, they will only be three points behind Gary Rowett’s side and they could move all the way up to ninth place.
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