It has been a whirlwind fortnight for Stiliyan Petrov but he announced his arrival in the Premiership in style yesterday. The 27-year-old Bulgarian international linked up with Aston Villa from Celtic in a £6.5m move on transfer deadline day. However, before he met his new teammates he was whisked away to play for Bulgaria in a brace of Euro 2008 quqalifiers. After returning late Thursday evening, Petrov was thrust straight into action by Martin O'Neill in Villa's 1-1 draw against West Ham. He so nearly crowned his debut with a goal but his cheeky lob was athletically cleared off the line by Tyrone Mears. Nevertheless, he proved his undoubted talent with a sparkling display that outshone West Ham's new Argentinian international Carlos Tevez. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with Petrov for his early thoughts on life in England...
Q:WHAT CAN VILLA SUPPORTERS EXPECT FROM A TEAM MANAGED BY MARTIN O'NEILL?
A:The manager will bring something the players and fans will enjoy. It is a really attacking style of football. The team has more belief and is working hard for each other and it is better. It was a hard season last year but the players showed character, belief and they want to play for this club and make the fans happy.
Q:VILLA ARE NOW FIFTH - CAN THEY STAY IN THAT POSITION?
A:We need to carry on if we want to be respected as a team and as players. We will try to push for Europe so why not? Everybody wants to play there and we have a belief and good ability so let's see where we end up. We all have dreams and we want to follow our dreams. This is a club that has won the title seven times and won the European Cup. You can only see what they have achieved and supporters expect this team to win.
Q:HOW HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR TEAMMATES - PARTICULARLY YOUR MIDFIELD PARTNERS GAVIN McCANN AND STEVEN DAVIS?
A:They are two great guys and I think all the fans should be proud that they have players like that at the club. They work very hard and have a fantastic heart. From what I have seen every time they go out to train and play they give their all and never let the team down. It is about Aston Villa and not about my debut. It is about how we finish and how we are playing. I have had a warm welcome and the players were great with me.
Q:WILL YOU BE OFFERING ADVICE TO VILLA'S YOUNGER PLAYERS?
A:I went to Celtic when I was 19 years old and I learned a lot from the players around me. When you are young and you want to progress you need to learn from the players around you. There are some very good players at Villa and I will try to learn from and help them.
Q:YOU WERE CLOSE TO SCORING ON YOUR DEBUT WEREN'T YOU?
A:I thought it was in and I looked to the linesman to raise his flag and signal I had scored. But turned around and saw that the boy had cleared it off the line. Sometimes chances go in and sometimes they don't. I could have done better but, at that time, it was the decision I felt was right.
