Aston Villa will officially begin life as a Championship club this weekend with one of their own, Jack Grealish, vowing it is payback time.

Grealish felt the impact of relegation more than most after enduring a turbulent 12 months, both personally and professionally, as Villa dropped out of the Premier League with barely a whimper.

After his star-is-born performance against Liverpool in last year’s FA Cup semi-final, he hit the headlines in June 2015 for the wrong reasons after being pictured lying on the floor on holiday on Tenerife, apparently drunk.

It was a harsh reality check for the attacking midfielder, one of Villa’s brightest academy prospects for years and a lifelong fan, polarising opinion among supporters anxious for a local hero.

Speaking for the first time about the incident, in his first national newspaper interview, Grealish admitted the lurid headlines made him grow up quickly.