The Dutchman has moved to Villa Park on a three-year deal on the day that James Collins departed to West Ham and will link up with former De Kuip colleague Karim El Ahmadi in the Midlands.

"I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of players such as Paul McGrath, Olof Mellberg and Martin Laursen, of course - all of them great players for this club," the centre-back told Villa's official website.

"But I also do things for myself because I want to get the very best out of myself. I can't do it alone, I also need the other players in the team as well as the fans, who are so important. By us all working hard for one another, we can achieve our goals.

"We must work together to make things better and to get good results. We have to do it on the pitch and, with the support of the fans, we can get it going together.

"Over time I hope my relationship with the fans at Villa becomes the same as it was at Feyenoord. I was at Feyenoord for seven years and the fans were good for me. It would be great to experience the same here and I will strive to achieve this."

Vlaar was a member of Netherlands' ill-fated Euro 2012 squad but insists that his best days are ahead of him, claiming that the Villans are 'quietly confident' of doing well in the Premier League next season.

"I am very happy to be here and I am really excited about getting started," he declared. "This is a dream come true for me.

"With my past, I am very proud but I always look forward and this is a great opportunity. I am very happy that Villa have given me this chance.

"I am 27 years old and I know my best years are ahead of me. I feel fit and strong and I am looking forward very much to playing my first game.

"I really believe we can bring the happiness back. The stadium is fantastic. I've only seen it so far when there were only a few people around, so I know it will be terrific when it is full of Villa supporters.

"I think there is a lot of quality here and, if we play like we can as a team, we will make it difficult for other teams to beat us. That's the most important thing, we need to get that feeling back to the team and the results have been good so far in pre-season. We will be quietly confident going into the new campaign."