In a rare outing for Villa on Sunday, with Sherwood looking on from the stands at Villa Park following his appointment the previous day, Given produced a superb performance to help the club into the FA Cup sixth round with a 2-1 win over Leicester.
After a couple of days working on the training ground with Sherwood, Given can sense he possesses the attitude to help Villa in the battle to avoid relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
Given, who previously played alongside Sherwood at Blackburn where the latter was captain, said: "He's always been a leader and was always a very good skipper.
"He was the main man in the changing room
He was the go-between with the players and the manager.
"I think he's fantastic leader, a real positive person and he just oozes confidence."
Speaking to the club's official website, Given added: "I've not worked with him as a coach or manager before.
"But being out there in our first training session it's obvious he knows what he wants from the team, and how he wants us to play.
"Even at the game at the weekend, he came in to the dressing room at half-time to get his message across.
"The way he speaks, people respond to that and he has a real positive outlook on football and life in general.
"Straight away he's instilled a few things into the team about how he wants us to play.
"That's very much on the front foot and being really positive on the pitch
I think that'll stand us in good stead."
Source : PA
Source: PA