Alex McLeish has asked Aston Villa fans to allow him time to prove he is the right man for the manager's job following his defection from Birmingham City to take the post.

McLeish's appointment was criticised by both sets of supporters after he was named Gérard Houllier's successor at Villa Park, but the former Rangers manager believes he can do the job and claimed he understood where the club's fans were coming from.

"Let me prove myself and I will win you over. It is not a case of proving the fans wrong, I want to go forward with them and prove I am the man for this job," he said.

"I can understand the passion and emotion of football and as long as it doesn't get out of control I can understand their feelings. Am I fazed by it? No. Have I had it before? Yes. I really look forward to the challenge."

The 52-year-old insisted the decision to leave Birmingham was tough and was quick to thank Blues supporters for their continued backing during his tenure at St Andrew's.

He said: "To think I have been able to manage both of them [Villa and Birmingham] is a wonderful honour. I wouldn't say it was a difficult decision in my career but it was a tough one, it is not every day you get offered a job like this. There is no way I couldn't have been the manager of Villa.

"I thank them very much for their support over the four years I have been there. Not everybody was sure of me at Birmingham and, OK, I left on relegation but we just fought one of the hardest Premier League campaigns ever."

The ex-Scotland coach also revealed he would have no problems in returning to his former club in the quest to add new players to Villa's ranks.

"I know there are many good players there but the policy that I have always maintained is not to talk about other clubs' players," he said.

"I'm getting bombarded – we are just going to assess things at the moment. If I thought a [Birmingham] player could improve Aston Villa Football Club why not?"

McLeish admitted that he had been surprised when the Villa owner, Randy Lerner, approached him to take on the role, just weeks after he was relegated with Birmingham. Asked if he had to pinch himself, he replied: "I'm sure a few people wanted to punch me; I don't know about pinch myself.

"I was [surprised]. That's why I'm so flattered to be chosen by the chairman, Randy Lerner. He's seen something in my CV that's attracted me to this club. I take a lot of heart from that despite the furore of the past couple of days.

"I know that relegation doesn't look good, but there were good times at Birmingham City and in my past as a manager." Following his high-profile move, McLeish also expects extra pressure to get results early on in his tenure. "Maybe there will be a little bit more pressure on me from that point of view," he added. "At the same time it's the remit of any manager to get a good start and a fast start. Fulham will be saying the same thing with Martin Jol."

The 52-year-old also admitted some regret about the manner in which he left Birmingham, after letting the club know of his resignation via email. "We live in modern world and I did follow it up with a hard copy," he added.

"I did say to my wife after we had been on holiday for two or three days that maybe I should deliver it to them face-to-face. She said there was no way I was leaving this holiday destination so soon, or I'd be hit with a rolling pin."