Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has written to the club's fans, saying he wants the best for a team that "still romantically nourish me" while accepting the blame for their demise.
Villa, who have won three league games this season, will play in the Championship next season following their relegation from the Premier League.
Lerner completed his takeover of Villa in 2006 and eight years later the American announced he was putting the club up for sale following a number if disappointing campaigns.
Writing on Villa's official website, Lerner referenced Villa's 3-2 loss to Leicester in September last year, in which the team let slip a two-goal lead, as the moment he felt the side were doomed.
Club statement: Note to supporters from Randy Lerner. Read it here: https://t.co/A9Mb1EChjH #AVFC pic.twitter.com/616pJhHSaC
- Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 22, 2016
He wrote: "A nagging sense of inevitability set in against Leicester City despite the late lead we enjoyed. Can't say why although I doubt I'm alone...
"How many seasons after all can one hold on and hope to slide through? That is not Aston Villa. That kind of desperate existence is totally unacceptable, unbearable and totally incompatible with Villa's glorious past. That is not what, or why, I looked to get involved back then and it is why I've looked for some time to make a change. I can say certainly in good faith that I have tried to sell since my May 2014 announcement and put our beloved club in better suited hands -- but that hasn't happened.
"I write to Villa supporters to make clear that this relegation lies at my feet and no one else's. And because I believe in Aston Villa and know it will come back stronger and more able, with love and care for the community it serves, with the edge and attitude it must have to represent our history and tradition. Memories of Acorns on the shirt, and Ashley Young scoring a late winner against Everton still romantically nourish me. I know Villa will return better, stronger.
"I will continue to try to put the club into worthy hands as I have, and also do my best to position Villa for the quickest possible return to its rightful place among England's elite.
"R Lerner."
In October, Villa sacked manager Tim Sherwood in a bid to arrest their struggles and appointed Remi Garde in November, but the French coach left the club in March before their relegation was confirmed this month.