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• Aston Villa

Players

• Wilfred Bouma

Wilfred Bouma believes he can still make an impression at Aston Villa despite an indifferent start.

The 27-year-old claims that the patchy opening to his Villa Park career can be attributed to the fact that during those early days he was living in a hotel and separated from his family.

But the former PSV man believes that now he has found a place to live, his performances on the pitch will show a marked improvement.

"It has made a positive change," Bouma explained to Villa's official website.

"It's not nice living out of a suitcase for two months, no matter how nice the hotel is.

"It will make a difference now that I have somewhere to go home to after training.

"We have tried to get out as much as possible. Living in a hotel is not good. We have spent a lot of time driving around, trying to get to know the area - trying to understand where we live and the people here.

"It's new to us," he continued. "It's important to feel like we belong here.

"I moved to PSV when I was 12 and I haven't known anything else. Not another club, nor living in another country. It's the first time in my career that I've been away.

"I want to do as much as possible on my own. If there is a question, we have people here at Villa who can answer it for you. It's good to know that help is available."