Tim Sherwood on Monday said his decision to take the job as manager of struggling English Premier League side Aston Villa was a "no-brainer".

The 46-year-old was unveiled at Villa Park on Monday after signing a deal until 2018 to replace the sacked Paul Lambert.

He takes over a side who languish in the relegation zone in the league, although his half-time team-talk helped inspire Villa to a 2-1 win against Leicester City on Sunday that took them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

When asked what he said to his new players at the interval of that game, Sherwood said: "To play with less fear. I thought it was a bit tentative. We had to get (Christian) Benteke more in the game. There's a little bit of apprehension around the place.

"They need to play with a bit more confidence then everything will be fine.

"It's a fantastic opportunity and a huge football club. When I got the call asking if I would be interested, it was a no-brainer. Yes. I'll take the job and then we'll negotiate later, see if they like what I'm about."

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Sherwood, who will take charge for Saturday's visit of Stoke City, is yet to meet chairman Randy Lerner but did speak to the owner on the phone and insisted he is not looking beyond this season as Villa battle the drop.

"I spoke to him (Lerner) briefly but I spoke to (chief executive) Tom Fox at length about the vision of the club. I liked what I heard," he said.

"It's different this season to the long run because we're in a difficult situation right now. I need to get the best out of this group then we can look at it again."

Villa won just twice in their last 21 league games under Lambert, who was sacked last week following a 2-0 defeat to Hull City.

Villa were founding members of the Premier League and Sherwood has targeted six wins between now and the end of the season to ensure they stay there.

"It's all about winning, nothing else. You can't look any further than the end of the season, we need six wins so it (13 games) will be enough," he said.

"We need to win and we need to get the players to play to their ability and if we can do that then we'll be very competitive in any game we play and that includes the one on Saturday."