The midfielder set up two of his side's goals in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Tranmere Rovers in the Capital One Cup.
"Paul Lambert is a good guy. He's been fair with me," the 26-year-old said.
"At the end of the season I've got 12 months left on my contract so I'm looking to prove myself and earn another one here."
Ireland joined Villa from Manchester City in summer 2010.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 | Manchester CityMan City | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 3 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 | Fulham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| 11 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 | Brentford | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 13 |
| 13 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 12 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| 15 | Leicester CityLeicester | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 16 | Everton | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
| 18 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| 19 | Southampton | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 |
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