Isaiah Osbourne admits he often has to pinch himself because he can't quite believe he is playing for his boyhood team.

The 20-year-old academy graduate signed a new three-year-deal recently and was delighted to commit his long-term future to the club he supported as a boy.

He said: "I've been a Villa fan all my life. It's a dream - the perfect job for me. I always dreamt of playing for the club and I have to pinch myself sometimes to actually believe I am at the club.

"Playing in front of my fellow supporters is amazing too. I can't put it into words really.

"My whole family are Villa supporters so they are very proud.

"The great thing is coming through the academy into the first team - that's a great feeling and I have a lot of people to thank for that - people like Bryan Jones, Tony McAndrew, Gordon Cowans and Kevin MacDonald.

"It's also great to commit to a club which are truly on the up in the Premier League and my main aim now is to fight to get a place in the team. That's my main goal.

"The manager is a great man to work for and I'm sure my game will develop working with him on a regular basis, with coaches like Steve and John.

"We have a great group of lads here and the banter is fantastic - it's a great club to be at."