Holman joined the club from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in 2012 when he was signed by manager Alex McLeish. The midfielder made 27 appearances for Villa, scoring one goal.

But McLeish was replaced as manager by Paul Lambert earlier on and the Australian surprisingly departed at the end of the 2012/2013 campaign, and moved to Al Nasr in the UAE.

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Holman has revealed that Lambert was happy to see him go, and the combination of the lucrative Middle East offer and his wife's unhappiness in living in Birmingham ended with his early exit.

"I had a frank chat with Paul Lambert...in that period Aston Villa were sort of like a sinking ship," he told the Greats with Garby podcast.

"That was sort of that era anyway. Paul basically said you're not going to play for me. I said I've signed a three-year deal here, I've brought my family over, I've invested everything, I want to play in the Premier League, this is what I want to do.

"The bottom line is if we get a great offer or you decide to go, then go, because I'm not going to stand in your way and the club is happy to let you go.

"But I didn't even think about it. And then the spanner comes and it's a financial offer from the UAE that came out of nowhere.

"Me and my wife had a frank chat. To say she was unhappy in Birmingham... would probably be OK. Two kids, I travelled with the Socceroos a lot that year so she was alone a lot. I think the only time the sun came out was actually the day that we left.

"The offer was amazing financially and we were both said let's have a crack and see what happens [in the UAE], and it was maybe the Premier League's not for me."

Holman admits it was a lifelong goal to play in the Premier League, but he does regret not staying in England.

"It was a dream," the 36-year-old said.

"It was amazing. You ticked a box, that was one of my goals, and it was a big box. It was definitely one of those dreams coming true.

"I don't regret moving to the UAE because I had an absolutely amazing time there. But I do regret not staying in the Premier League, or maybe waiting it out and trying to see if somebody else came in.

"With the discussion that we had I knew it wasn't going to be a happy place at Villa, which is a shame because I actually loved the club, even though it was only for one year.

"But maybe instead of maybe overrushing you could have just waited it out and put the feelers out for any other interest. I didn't do that - that's something I do regret because I do believe I could have made a good dent in that league."