Aston Villa sign Tottenham winger Simon Dawkins

25-year-old winger joins on loan until the end of the season

Paul Lambert is struggling with his Villa side (Getty Images)

Simon Dawkins is determined to make the most of his second chance in the Barclays Premier League after confirming his move from Tottenham to Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old winger has revived his career on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes over the last couple of seasons since suffering a career-threatening knee injury at Spurs five years ago.

Dawkins said: "I worked for two years to get over my injury and regain my fitness and now I'm really motivated to make the most of this opportunity at Villa.

"Tottenham have been great with me and the past two seasons with San Jose have really kick-started my career.

"I never lost my belief and everything I've been through has made me stronger mentally as a player and as a person.

"I'm really focused on what I need to do for the rest of this season and I'm looking forward to training with my new team-mates ahead of a big game against Everton this weekend."

Dawkins marked his return to form last season by scoring eight goals for San Jose in a record-breaking regular season campaign before being knocked out in the MLS play-offs.

PA