Albion new-boy Gareth McAuley feels like “a kid in a candy shop” after finally getting his chance at Premier League football.

The Northern Ireland captain signed a three-year Hawthorns contract yesterday to complete his free-transfer move from Ipswich and will finally taste top-flight action at the age of 31.

And McAuley is excited to secure a move to the Baggies, who beat off competition from Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers to land his signature.

He said: “I am trying to keep the excitement in but I’m like a kid in a candy shop inside.

“It’s a great thing to have to look forward to but I’ve got a lot of hard work over the summer and over the coming seasons to try to establish myself at this level. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since the end of the season.

“I knew of the interest and had a few other clubs in for me but coming here got me really excited and I am delighted to be here.

“This is where I wanted to come.”

McAuley, who has climbed the ladder from part-time football in his homeland to become captain of his country plus Ipswich Player of the Year for the past two seasons, feared the Premier League had passed him by.

But the former Leicester and Lincoln man, who was previously an Albion target for Tony Mowbray, insists he will be in peak condition for club’s second successive season in the top-flight.

He said: “You’ve got to keep on believing, testing yourself every day and improving. And you have to keep believing in yourself.

“I am coming to a stage now where maybe you might question yourself but I feel as fit and strong now as I have ever done and it’s good that the chance has arrived. I just can’t wait for it to get started.

“It’s going to be hard to break into team but that’s my aim, if I back myself and have enough confidence in myself to get into the team hopefully I can do that.

“I have played a lot of games in the Championship, it’s a tough division as the players here who have played in it will know.

“Teams have top strikers for you to play against and you play against top strikers week in, week out.

“They are maybe not up to the standard of the Premier League, but there are international players.

“I try to read the game and win balls in the air, probably the same as the players here.

“But I am another face and if I can add something to the squad here that’s what the club is looking for.”

McAuley revealed talks with head coach Roy Hodgson and international team-mate Chris Brunt helped convince him Albion was the right destination for him.

The 6ft 3in stopper said: “I met the gaffer and liked him and I knew Brunty and he had great things to say about the club. I am delighted to be here and I am ready to get my teeth into it.

“The gaffer said he had seen me play a few times and watched a few international games and he was impressed and wanted me to come here and to work with him and develop again as a player.

“With the clubs he has managed over the years he’s got such a wealth of knowledge and if you can improve it’s something everyone looks to do.

“Brunt has been here for a while, he’s a fans’ favourite and the skipper of the club and he’s a great player who has been a friend of mine for a few years.

“But I didn’t need to pick his brains for too long about what the place is like and what it’s all about because he only had good things to say and he helped me make the decision.

“It’s a fantastic club, I have played against them a few times, played at The Hawthorns and experienced the atmosphere and I have actually scored there, although I’d better not mention that too much!

“They are a great club who want to move forward, cement themselves in the Premier League and become a top club.”