Stephen Ireland insists joining a "family club" was absolutely key to his Villa move.

Ireland was glowing in his praise of Villa - a "friendly" organisation he has admired from afar for many years.

He also said he was looking forward to a successful spell on the pitch, insisting he would be giving his all for both team-mates and fans alike.

He said: "I did a lot of research into Aston Villa before I came. I spoke to Darius Vassell, Richard Dunne - I spoke to a lot of people.

"I knew this was exactly where I wanted to go. I think Aston Villa is a very good family club - a club that will get the best out of me.

"With it being a family club, I know I'm going to see the same faces day-in and day-out.

"I spoke to some of the staff and they have been here for 16 or 17 years.I definitely want to be part of that.

"I have actually been shocked at how good it is - even though I have only been here for two or three days.

"I have settled in so well and so fast - they are really nice people. The chairman is really good here. I am really impressed with him. I really like him. I'm really fond of him.

"The club has really impressed me - the full package and that family feel. I feel I am going to be very comfortable in those surroundings.

"Even the young lads are just so polite. I am quite shocked with that too. I can really see myself having a good time here.

"I speak to Richard Dunne regularly - even last season I did - and he spoke so highly of the club.

"I have always liked Aston Villa, always liked coming here and playing. They were always a team I was wary of too.

"I feel the style of play, the fans - it's just really exciting. For me I can definitely push on and get back to playing the way I can.

"I am really looking forward to working with Kevin too.

"A lot of players will be wondering who it's going to be [the manager] but at the moment Kevin is calling the shots. We're all more than happy to be working with him now so until then we're just going to knuckle down and get as many points as we can.

"We might not have the same finances [as Manchester City] but we definitely have team spirit.

"We have a good bunch of lads who really want to achieve something. We are all a good age group as well and we have good ability at a young age so it could be a good journey for us all to do something together and achieve something big.

"I am impressed with the play on the pitch. Villa always play at a high intensity and that's the way I like to play as well.

"I like to attack and I like to defend - be involved as much as I can. With my first training session today, I haven't worked that hard in months.

"I was shocked at how hard it was and what high intensity it was too. For me I feel I can fit in quite easily and obviously bring something to the table. I think we can do something good together.

"I want to work hard for my team-mates and for the fans. When that whistle blows the least I can offer is hard work. I want to get assists and goals too, of course.

"But the very least I am going to bring to the game is hard work.

"I am extremely determined and really fired and ready to go. I want to start playing again because I have been missing it a lot. I want to play - and play regularly."