Aston Villa signing Enda Stevens eager to learn

Enda Stevens becomes Villa's first January signing (GETTY IMAGES)

New Aston Villa signing Enda Stevens is aiming to learn from fellow left-back Stephen Warnock after completing his move from Shamrock Rovers.

Stevens signed a pre-contract agreement with Villa last summer but was allowed to remain with Shamrock for the first half of the season.

But he has now launched his three and a half year deal with Villa and knows he can only benefit from training and playing alongside Warnock who was part of England's 2010 World Cup squad.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international said: "I'm looking forward to learning from him (Warnock) because obviously he's done it in the Premier League for so many years.

"He's also a full international with England. All I can do is learn from him and we'll see where it goes from there.

"He's a quality player, there's no question about that. He's proved himself and it's up to me now to just hit the ground running and try to prove myself."

Stevens insists it is unfair to point the finger at Warnock for his error which gifted Swansea their opening goal in Monday's 2-0 win over Villa.

He said: "The opposition can hurt you, but players make mistakes. You can't just go on that game.

"I mean, look at him (Warnock) against Chelsea and how good he was in that game. He's a top quality player."

Stevens knows he faces a challenge to force his way into the Villa first team.

He said: "It's an exciting challenge. I never expected to come here and just play. You've got to work at it.

"I've worked hard to get here, but it doesn't stop there. I've got to keep working hard to prove myself.

"The training is obviously at a much higher tempo and I was going home from training completely tired out when I first came over.

"But I've just got to get used to that and hopefully I'll just hit the ground running."

PA