Paul Lambert, the new Aston Villa manager, seemed to acknowledge the main failing of predecessor Alex McLeish's reign when he admitted a need to win over the club's supporters early on.
The Scot left Norwich City to take over from McLeish last week.
Lambert delivered unprecedented success during a three-year spell at Carrow Road, leading the club to consecutive promotions and a 12th-placed finish in the Barclays Premier League last season. Villa, by comparison, have stagnated and finished the season four places below Norwich last term.
McLeish was unpopular from the off having joined from rivals Birmingham City and his successor has already been lauded. It is expectation which Lambert believes he can justify.
"We have to give the fans something, we will need them," said Lambert, who revealed former Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who coached the former Scotland internationalist at Celtic, recommended he take the job. "There is a lot of expectancy and it is not something I am going to shy away from, it is something I will thrive on, hopefully."
While Lambert spoke of his excitement at the chance to take over at a club of Villa's stature, he acknowledged it had been difficult to leave Norwich.
"I had three unbelievable years and loved my time there – I had a special rapport with the football club, the fans and the players," he said. "I will always be proud of what we have done as a group. It is a part of my life that will stay with me. I had my reasons for leaving and I don't want to keep going back to that."
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