Maloney On Premiership Challenge

24-year-old Shaun Maloney says of his move from Celtic to Villa Park:

‘It’s a massive challenge to play here, but I’m confident in my abilities.’

Adding on Villa World TV News which I hope is up for a revamp as it is truly dire for the money at the moment: ‘I’m delighted to have it sorted. It was obviously a little bit worrying as we got closer to 12 o’clock. Thankfully the manager, secretary and a few other people worked really hard to sort it out and I’m delighted to be here. It’s a massive challenge for me. I’ve been playing up in Scotland for a few years and this is the right time for me to make this move.’

‘You can miss the chance to make this sort of move and this was too good an opportunity for me to pass up. It was pretty late on that I found out about coming to Villa, but when I spoke to Martin I didn’t have a second thought. I knew this was the right move. The manager is obviously somebody that I’ve known before. I know how he works and I’m really pleased that he sees me as part of his rebuild of the club.’

Adding the challenge of playing in the Prem which he calls a ‘quality league’ is ‘exciting’ him.

This will upset some of our friends North of the border as he adds: ‘No disrespect to the Scottish league, obviously it’s a challenge to win it every year with Celtic and if you don’t it’s a big disappointment. But I think the quality of opponent week in, week out in the Premiership will be a lot higher and as a player I think it’s a massive challenge. I need to improve as a player and adapt to that and that’s why I’ve decided to do it.’

‘I can’t wait to play at Villa Park. The boys all speak highly of it. Hopefully I’ll be in the squad tomorrow.’