Lambert vows to reward Villa faithful

New Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert said it was vital the Premier League club "gave the fans something" as he took charge of the Birmingham side. Lambert, 42, appointed after Villa sacked fellow Scot Alex McLeish, led Norwich to successive promotions during a three-year spell at Carrow Road that culminated with last term's impressive 12th place finish in the Premier League. By contrast, Villa flirted with relegation and ended the season in 16th spot, just two points above the drop zone. McLeish, an unpopular appointment with Villa supporters as he came straight from local rivals Birmingham, didn't endear himself to fans by presiding over a dour style of football that lacked the offsetting bonus of being successful. It is a long time since Villa, European champions in 1982, were one of England's top clubs. But former Celtic midfielder Lambert, who won the European Cup as a player with German club Borussia Dortmund, said his aim was to bring the glory days back to Villa Park. "We have to give the fans something, we will need them," Lambert said Wednesday. "I think they will come here in their thousands to watch us and it is up to us to give something back. "I am honoured to be manager of the football club, I will give it everything I've got to be successful. "There is a lot of expectancy at the club and it is not something I am going to shy away from, it is something I will thrive on hopefully. "We will try and get results as quickly and as best we can. We have to play football in the right way." Meanwhile Lambert said he had "nothing but praise" for his time at Norwich. "I had three unbelievable years and, as I've said before, I loved my time there -- I had a great rapport there and had a special rapport with the football club, the fans and the players. "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 and I will never forget it. "I have nothing but praise for Norwich. The fanbase was always pivotal to what happened. "I had my reasons for leaving, which will probably remain private and I don't want to keep going back to that," added Lambert, who said former Villa manager Martin O'Neill, now in charge at Sunderland, had urged him to take the job even though the Ulsterman fell out with Villa's US-based owner Randy Lerner over the amount of money he was allowed to spend in the transfer market. But Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner insisted Lambert would be given funds to bring in new players. "We know we have got to work with Paul and freshen up the squad," he said. "We had a poor season and we have got to get to work. It is about trying to get that squad ready to go for pre-season and make sure we are up challenging at the top half of the table."