Petrov on the road to Villa glory

The road to recognition has been anything but straightforward for Stiliyan Petrov since moving to the Midlands. Just ask his other half.

Petrov now finds himself favourite to replace Martin Laursen as Villa's skipper for next season, having been handed the honour on his return to the side in Saturday's Peace Cup clash with Malaga.

If Martin O'Neill were to hand him the armband on a permanent basis it would cap a fairytale few months for the midfielder, after he was rewarded with a new four-year deal within a week of scooping last season's Players' and Supporters' Player of the Year awards.

It is a far cry from the Bulgaria international's early memories of life in the Second City, after being reunited with his former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill south of the border in 2006.

He looked a shadow of the player who took Scotland by storm in his first 18 months, coming in for criticism from fans and failing to hold down a first-team place.

The 30-year-old freely admits it was not only a testing time for him but also wife Paulina, whom he married live on Bulgarian TV.

In fact, a grinning Petrov revealed he still counts his blessings his wife is still with him!

He said: "When I came over to this club there were very high expectations of me. But things didn't start well. The fans were on my back.

"When you're really down and everybody's on your back it's really hard.

"Of course your family notice. It's one of the worst things that can happen to a player. You love to do something and you just can't do it.

"I'm happy that my wife is still with me! She accepted my long days without talking and she knows me. She knows that when I don't play I'm not happy.

"She has coped with a lot of things and I'm happy that she doesn't need to see my moaning anymore."

According to Petrov, the way Villa supporters have grown to love him has been like a "stone being lifted from his heart."

He said: "It takes a lot of courage to come out and prove people wrong. But I didn't give up for even one second.

"As long as you believe in your ability and what you can do, you can always count on your luck coming back again one day.

"I was glad to win those two awards as I could then finally say the fans are satisfied with my game. It feels like a stone has been lifted from my heart."

Clearly, the support of his family has been crucial to his Villa Park renaissance, but Petrov concedes he owes a debt of gratitude to his claret and blue 'family' too.

He said: "It was a great honour to be named Players' Player of the Year, because you work with these lads every single day.

"We are like a family, you spend more time with your team-mates than your actually family."

Petrov's place in the side might look even more secure with Gareth Barry having departed.

But the midfield maestro insists he has no intention of taking his foot off the pedal.

The Bulgarian said: "These two awards have put even more pressure on me, because now you need to go and show everybody that it's not just one-and-a-half good years.

"You want to have two three four five seasons doing well. I hope I can prove I can reach that standard every year."