Making your first Premier League appearance can be a daunting prospect for any young footballer, but new Aston Villa Loanee Simon Dawkins was as cool as a cucumber following his first run out as a Premier League footballer in a thrilling 2-1 win against West Ham on Sunday afternoon.

The 25-year-old, who joined the Villans from Tottenham on transfer deadline day this January, had never made an appearance in the Premier League until Sunday despite being on the books at White Hart Lane since 2007 and was delighted to finally have got his feet on a top flight football pitch in England.

“Really, really good," Dawkins replied when he was asked how it felt to finally make his first Premier League appearance.

“I’m just happy to get on the field and get the win so I’m happy with that.

“It’s good to finally get that first appearance and push on from here.”

Dawkins played two seasons of regular football in America’s Major League Soccer, joining the San Jose Earthquakes for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. His 53 appearances for the club, that included 120 minutes of playoff football against 2012 MLS Cup champions the LA Galaxy, has helped prepare the midfielder for the half season in the Midlands, and Dawkins is extremely thankful that Fank Yallop was willing to bring him into the Quakes side for an extended period of time.

“With all the injuries I’ve had, all I’ve wanted to do is just play a full season without a major injury,” he added.

“I did that for two years in America and it really helped me develop my game and, like I said, now this is the next step so hopefully I can push on even more.

“I’m very thankful [to the Earthquakes]. I can’t thank them enough. To go there and for them to give me the backing and just basically say play your game and just do the best you can is great.”

While in Californishad the opportunity to learn and develop the attacking side of his game with one of MLS’ soon-to-be Hall of Famer Chris Wondolowski, and Dawkins, like many, is convinced that the American international is good enough to play in Europe.

“I think so. The right opportunities hopefully will come for him.

“He can definitely do it.

“I’ve learnt a lot from him on just how to finish. Last year, people that saw MLS, saw that so it’s great to be around him.”

To hear more from Simon and his interview with Ollie listen to Mondays edition of the show