Paul Lambert hopes Aston Villa can excite supporters

New Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has pledged to excite the club's supporters with his team's performances.

"I'll give it everything I've got to make sure we are as successful as we can be," said the 42-year-old.

"We have to get the fans excited. We will need them to stay with us and I am sure they will."

The former Norwich boss succeeds fellow Scot Alex McLeish, who was sacked after Villa finished only two points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Lambert, who was presented to the media at a news conference on Wednesday, revealed he had spoken to ex-Villa boss Martin O'Neill before taking over.

"He was brilliant about it. He was really really complimentary about it," said Lambert.

Many Villa fans opposed the appointment of McLeish, who joined from West Midlands rivals Birmingham, and were angry at the team's performances as they finished 16th in the table.

"There is a lot of expectancy at the club and it is not something I'm going to shy away from," said Lambert. "It's something I will thrive on, hopefully.

"We will try to get results as quickly and as best as we can. We have to play football the right way.

"We have to give them [the fans] something. We will need them - I think they will come in their thousands to watch us and it is up to us to give them something back."

Lambert, who is Villa's fourth boss in less than two years, spent three years at Norwich and guided the Canaries to back-to-back promotions from League One before finishing 12th in last season's Premier League.

"I will always be proud of what we have done as a group - it is a part of my life that will stay with me and I will never forget it. I have nothing but praise for Norwich. The fanbase was always pivotal to what happened," he said.

"I had my reasons [for leaving], which will probably remain private and I don't want to keep going back to that."

McLeish was dismissed the day after the final match of the season, and former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer held talks with Villa about the vacancy before deciding to stay as coach at Norwegian side Molde.

But Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner insisted the club are delighted to have recruited Lambert.

"Paul's track record speaks for itself. We were very clear from the start the type of manager we wanted. We wanted somebody young to bring the vibrancy back to the club," said Faulkner.

"When we were able to meet with Paul, it was totally clear he was the right man for Aston Villa.

"We've got to freshen up the squad. It's about making sure we are up there challenging in the top half of the table."

Lambert said he would bring new players in, but had not thought about whether unsettled Norwich captain Grant Holt would be one of them.