Ashley Westwood is convinced of the passion within the Aston Villa squad.

There have been six new faces brought in and Westwood is certainly not about to take his place in the side for granted.

He said: "I love being here and I'm delighted to be part of a great football club.

"You look at the players the manager has brought to the club and they're all young and hungry. I just want to be part of that and hopefully we're building something special here.

"From a personal standpoint it's been great for me here. When I first came I set a target of making a few appearances. I was able to get myself in the team and I stayed there. This year's going to be a challenge again.

"The manager has brought some more young and hungry players to the club and the lads who have been here will have to push on and work our socks off to make sure the manager keeps selecting us.

"Competition for places is good. You need that as a player and you need it as a team. It's healthy for the squad."