Alan Hutton has revealed that he is desperate to take the opportunity to impress Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert this season.

The Scot has spent two seasons out in the cold, with loan spells at Mallorca, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers disrupting a difficult time at Villa Park, but he is hopeful of becoming a key player after being used on a regular basis in pre-season.

"It's all come as a bit of a shock. With what has gone on in the last few seasons I thought my future would lie elsewhere," Hutton told reporters. "Hopefully this is a new lease of life. I have been brought back in, now I can only do my best, and hopefully that's good enough.

"You have to grab these opportunities with both hands. It's been a long time since I was involved, so who would have thought it could have happened?"

Hutton scored the only goal of the game as Villa beat Walsall on Tuesday night.