STEPHEN Ireland intends to banish his Newcastle nightmares on his return to Tyneside tomorrow as he enjoys his exciting Villa awakening.

Ireland has unhappy memories of St James’ Park after a 6-0 drubbing on his claret and debut and a “waste of time” loan spell last season.

But the Irish playmaker has kick-started his career with an encouraging run of games in Alex McLeish’s first team in recent weeks.

And Ireland is hoping both sets of supporters finally see the best of him in tomorrow afternoon’s encounter in the North East.

The 25-year-old midfielder endured an embarrassing bow when Kevin MacDonald’s men suffered a six-goal hammering in August 2010.

And Ireland fared little better during an uneventful loan spell with the Toon Army in the second half of last season with injury restricting him to a couple of cameo appearances.

“I went to Newcastle hoping to get some games because I wasn’t getting any here,” said Ireland.

“But I had an injury which knocked me off my momentum. I went up there with good intentions but it never happened for me.

“It was a bit of a waste of time, although I was happy with what everyone up there did for me. The manager and the staff were very helpful.

“They got me fit and it was unfortunate that I couldn’t repay them.”

Now Ireland is desperate to repay Villa fans for his second chance despite him allegedly branding Birmingham a “c**p city” during his spell at Newcastle.