CAPTAIN Stiliyan Petrov has welcomed the start of the Alex McLeish era after hailing the new boss as the right man to unite Aston Villa.

Petrov has described McLeish as a ‘bad loser’ whose winning mentality will inspire the claret and blues to success in time.

“I actually met the new manager a few days ago, I know him from before also and I’m really glad we have someone like him in charge of our team,” he said.

“He’s a man who is a bad loser, he likes to win and he likes to be on top of everybody. I think we need a man like this.

“The chairman is aware of his ability and what he can do and I think he’s the right choice of person to lead this club. He needs to be given time.

“If you hit a hard time, he’ll look to bounce back straight away. We need someone like this.

“Last season was a disappointment but this is a new season, a new beginning, a fresh start.”

Petrov revealed McLeish talked about dressing-room togetherness on Villa’s return to pre-season training yesterday.

“He made it clear that you need a united team and a strong dressing room and he will give everyone an equal chance from the start of the season,” he said.

“Even the guys who didn’t play a lot last season are back and training with a smile. We hope that will continue into the season.

“He said he expects us to win games, we’re going to be well-prepared and as strong as possible.

“But I know the gaffer from the time I was at Celtic and he was Rangers manager and I know his passion about winning.”