Aston Villa new boy Darren Bent has paid tribute to the club's supporters for their reception.
New striker pays tribute to fans for their support
Aston Villa new boy Darren Bent has paid tribute to the club's supporters for their reception towards him on his debut against Manchester City.
The Villa faithful were in great voice on Saturday as they saw Bent score the winner on his debut following his £18million move from Sunderland to win 1-0.
Bent was ecstatic to begin his time at his new club in such style, but admits that he was feeling the weight of expectation prior to kick-off.
"It was a fantastic feeling to score the goal. For a striker, there really is no better feeling in the world than seeing that ball fly into the back of the net," Bent told the club's
official website.
"I just managed to stay on my toes, react first and put it in the net.
"It was great to get that goal after such an action-packed week. It capped off some week.
"I felt the pressure a little bit but what eased it were the thousands of fans screaming and chanting my name throughout. They made it so much easier for me.
Brilliant
"I've got to say a big thank you to the Villa fans. They were brilliant. They were so loud and at the final whistle I saw them all jumping up and down - they were fantastic scenes.
"Hopefully they'll be many more games like this to come."
Bent also gave glowing praise to his team-mates, both in defence and his supporting attackers, stating that he will thrive off their service.
"James (Collins) and (Richard Dunne) Dunny are two of the best centre-halves in this division," he added.
"They showed what they are all about against a fantastic City attack - Carlos Tevez has been flying and scoring goals for fun while Edin Dzeko is the new guy looking to prove a point.
"Our boys played really, really well."
"It feels like Christmas when you've got the attacking talent we've got in the team. Marc (Albrighton), Stewart (Downing), Ashley (Young), Gabby (Agbonlahor) - they create chances for fun.
"We probably didn't create as many as we would have liked but that's because it was Manchester City. But there were more than enough signs of what they can do. That's one of the reasons I came to the football club."
