Stiliyan Petrov insisted he never lost faith in his ability during his bleak times at Aston Villa as he signed a new four-year contract with the midlands club.

Petrov has put pen to paper on a deal which will keep him at Villa Park until the end of the 2012-2013 campaign. The Bulgaria international capped an outstanding season by being voted Villa's player of the year.

It is in sharp contrast to Petrov's fortunes after he made the £6million move from Celtic in the summer of 2006 in becoming Martin O'Neill's first major signing.

He struggled to make an impact and even endured a spell out of the side last season.

Petrov said: "It takes some players longer than others to settle in but I never gave up. I knew what I could do and what I could produce and finally I started showing it.

"I knew it was going to be hard and there were things I had to improve in my game. That's why I came to the English Premier League, to improve, and I feel now like I'm doing that."