 In October, he went on a week's trial at Villa and played in a reserve team match against Blackburn Rovers, however no permanent move was made.He struggled to regain his place in the first team after the trial, and after a dismal display in the 7–1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in February 2000, he would not play again until the final day of the season when Chester were relegated from the Football League after 69 years.Lancaster started to feature more prominently at the beginning of the 2000–01 season, as he began to start the majority of games under new manager Graham Barrow.