Stephen Ireland has told his new Aston Villa team-mates that he is ready to work hard for the cause after completing his switch to Villa Park from Manchester City.

The 23-year-old moves to Villa as part of the deal that sees James Milner head to Eastlands and he is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his career.

He said:"For me, my number one target is to work hard for my team-mates, show them what I can bring to the table, show them they can rely on me and that I'm going to work hard for them week in, week out.

"When I get my chance to get on the ball, hopefully I'll shine as well. I'm really excited. I've only been here a day but I know what it's about already. It's a family club, I've seen a lot of happy faces here and a lot of friendly faces, so I'm really excited for the future here.

"I'm looking forward to building up a relationship with the fans and my new team-mates. It's exciting for me to have a new challenge, move here and get settled.

"I have plenty of personal ambitions. I want to get back to playing the way I can – I haven't played 90 minutes in nearly eight or nine months, which isn't normal really for me. I've kind of forgotten the feeling what it is like to come off after a game feeling tired, winning or losing. I'm not used to sitting out for so long.

"So for me, I want to get back to playing at the top of my game and I want to work hard for my team-mates. I want to see if my team-mates and myself can push on and achieve something massive this season.

"Hopefully I can come here and build on that and help Aston Villa push on to better targets and reach higher goals. Hopefully I can be of benefit to the team.

"I think we have got a good bunch of young lads here who can go on and achieve something for themselves and for the club as well. We've got a very good squad."

Ireland made 176 appearances for City after making his debut almost five years ago, finding the net on 23 occasions.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email