Ashley Young insists he wants to remain Villa’s penalty king despite competition from £24m man Darren Bent.

Villa’s new club record signing has been the regular taker at his previous clubs and admitted last week he was hoping to boost his goal total by taking them for the claret and blues.

But after scoring from the spot in the Premier League win at Wigan on Tuesday, Young is adamant he is not planning to give up the responsibility any time soon.

“I’ve scored the last two penalties so I was never going to give it up,” said Young.

“I think because I got fouled the manager wanted me to give it up, I think there was a bit of superstition there.

“But I just told Benty I was taking it and I scored so hopefully I don’t miss one and I’ll continue taking penalties.

“He’s a striker, he’s taken them up at Sunderland so he obviously wants to take them and add to his goal tally.

“I want to add to my tally as well so until I miss I’m not going to give the ball up.

“The penalty spot was a bit muddy and sandy so I just put my foot through it and luckily I scored the penalty and that put us 2-0 up.

“Luckily for us, we knew the first goal was going to be vital. We got that, then we kicked on and got the second goal.

“We were delighted to get the two goals and then we showed our resolve at the end. We can defend as a team and we defended brilliantly to see the game out.

“It’s never an easy place to go to. We knew it was going to be tough,but thankfully we got the three points and now we can start looking up the table rather than behind us.”

Young has linked up brilliantly with Bent in his first couple of games for Villa and the 25-year-old winger, who skippered the side at the DW Stadium, hailed the immediate impact of the striker’s arrival.

Bent netted on his debut against Manchester City and impressed with his all-round work rate against the Latics, which has eased the pressure which had built up on Villa’s attacking players.

“Darren hasn’t just taken a weight off my shoulders, he’s boosted everyone,” said former Watford man Young. “He is a quality signing and has shown in the first two games how well he can do for us

“The manager knew who he wanted to bring in during the window to add to our squad and he has done superb in that.

“We can continue the good work we have had so far. Any player who comes to the team settles in very quickly.

“I think that is down to the team spirit and character around the place.

“It is not always going to be the happiest place when we are not winning but that’s football.

“You have ups and downs and it shows the team’s strength to get ourselves out of sticky situations. But hopefully we can start looking up the table now.”

Young emphasised that Bent has been quick to settle in with his new team-mates and already feels he is part of the furniture at Villa.

He added: “Obviously some of the lads know him from a lower level at under-21s or senior level with England.

“Everybody knows his attributes and he has done well at all his previous clubs.

“He is a great addition to the squad and I am sure he is delighted to be at Villa and we are delighted to have him. It is great for him to be at the club.

“He has settled in really well. It feels like he has been here a long time even though he has only been here just over a week.”