Aston Villa have endured a miserable campaign so far in the Sky Bet Championship, where they find themselves sitting 14th in the table, despite a raft of changes both on and off the pitch.

Following relegation from the Premier League last season, many expected Villa to bounce straight back and make an instant return to the top-flight as huge investment poured into the fallen Midlands giants.

Roberto Di Matteo was handed the task of steering Villa to promotion, but after a poor start to the season, the Italian lost his job in October, replaced by the experienced Steve Bruce.

The former Hull City boss has found life at Villa Park difficult, with the club currently 13-points behind the Play-Off places, despite their multi-million-pound squad.

Bruce invested heavily during the January transfer window, bringing in seven new faces to Villa Park, however, this has not helped to turn results around, with Villa losing back-to-back games against Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

Here, we look at three things that could heap more misery on Villa before the end of the season…

Finishing below Birmingham City

Villa currently sit 14th in the Championship table, while their bitter rivals Birmingham sit two places higher in 12th, four points better off than Bruce’s side.

With Villa’s chances of a top six finish relying heavily on a magnificent run of results, their season is all but over.

Seeing Birmingham finish above them, when they were one of the favourites for promotion will only rub salt into the Villa wounds.

To make matters worse, Villa manager, Bruce, was once in charge at St Andrew's and led Birmingham to promotion in 2002.

Ross McCormack flourishing at Nottingham Forest

McCormack joined Villa during the summer transfer window from Fulham, costing the club £12m.

However, the striker failed to impress during his time at Villa Park, finding the net just three times and having a public falling out with Bruce over missing a training session.

The Scottish international joined Forest on loan until the end of the season, where he is looking for a fresh start.

If McCormack shows the same form for Forest as he did for Fulham, the Reds will gain a prolific Championship striker.

Should the Scot find his feet quickly at Forest, it will leave Villa regretting their decision to let him leave.

Getting pulled into a relegation battle

Villa are currently closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top six, not something you thought you'd hear at the start of the season, considering the squad on offer at Villa Park.

Amazingly, Bruce’s side are just eight points clear of Blackburn Rovers, who sit 22nd in the Championship as things currently stand.

Villa undoubtedly have enough quality in their side to avoid relegation and shouldn’t be dragged into a fight for survival.

However, with teams below them picking up valuable points, Bruce’s side are drifting closer to the bottom three.

A relegation battle during the last three months of the season would be a major kick in the teeth for everyone associated with the club.