By Dan Harrison

Ron Vlaar is desperate to taste victory in Villa colours for the first time - after reflecting on his debut with mixed emotions.

Vlaar made an impressive start to his claret and blue career in the 1-0 opening day defeat at West Ham.

But the Dutch defender insists the pride he felt at making his debut was overshadowed the by the result.

Now Vlaar is determined to make up for his Upton Park disappointment by helping Villa get their first points on the board against Everton on Saturday.

"It was a proud day for me because it was my debut for Villa and it was something I had been looking forward to," he said.

"But of course the result is the most important thing and obviously that did not go our way. Of course it is a disappointment.

"I was desperate to get off to a winning start but now we must look forward to the home game against Everton now and hopefully my first game at Villa Park will be a victory.

"Against Everton we must do better. We started the game against West Ham well and played some nice football but we have to score but were unable to do that."

Vlaar came close to marking his debut with a goal but West Ham keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen got down to save his long-range drive.

"I went close with a low shot and it would be nice to get my first goal for Villa - it was a shame that the shot did not go in and the keeper saved it," said the ex-Feyenoord man.

"But that is not my first priority. My priority is defending and to help keep a clean sheet so it's not really my job to score.

"The manager wants us to improve our play and we have to do that. We had some chances to score but were not quite there."

Vlaar can already sense his central defensive partnership with Ciaran Clark blossoming.

He was paired with Clark in a competitive match for the first time on Saturday, following pre-season friendly outings together against Nottingham Forest and Werder Bremen.

"Ciaran and I are now building an understanding as a partnership," added Vlaar.

"We are learning about each other's games and hopefully we can complement each other with the way we play.

"It will take a few games before we develop a complete understanding but this is natural of course.

"I think Ciaran is a very good defender and he reads the game well for such a young player.

"He is also very good with the ball and brought it out of defence well which will be of benefit to the way we play."

Click here to pick up tickets for Villa's exciting first home game against Everton.