Mark McGhee's Barmy Army!

Confirmed in this morning's press conference, Bristol Rovers have appointed former Brighton, Milwall, Reading and Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee on a 2 and a half year deal. I think it must be said, this appointment is a superb coup for the club and credit must be paid to Nick Higgs and the board for making it happen. They still have a lot of work to do in supporting their new man and delivering the UWE Stadium, but this is a step in the right direction.

I expressed concern last night that because I felt McGhee would be the right appointment, it wouldn't happen because it's Bristol Rovers... I was wrong  - happily! I feel his experience, style of football and knowledge will be massive for us and should result in a brighter future for the club, on the field at least. He won't take players who 'aren't willing to put in as much effort as he is', which is reassuring for supporters that the hard work is going in by all involved. He likes his sides to be passionate and 'determined' and once he is certain that they are, 'passing' football will follow.

The experienced Scotsman displayed his professionalism and a sense of humour during the press conference, impressing the assembled media that included the likes of Geoff Twentyman and Chris Spittles. The latter took to Twitter to explain how well McGhee came across and how sure he was that the former Motherwell manager would turn things around at the club. Sky Sports News have been running the story all day and interviewed him live over lunchtime to emphasise just how big a coup it is for the club. It's a promising first impression that MM has left the local and national media - unlike his predecessor - and that will stand him in good stead. Most importantly though, he's impressed myself and the other Rovers fans with his desire for 'winning football', something we hope we can witness being implemented over the coming days, weeks, months and years.

All in all, a rather great day for Bristol Rovers. But make no mistake, the hard work starts right here, right now. MM has 2 full days to work with the players before his debut as Gas manager in a local away derby with Cheltenham Town at the Abbey Business Stadium on Saturday, where hopefully we can kick off his tenure with 3 points. Time for the players to knuckle down and get the results required to keep us in this division and then ultimately move upwards.

Welcome to Bristol, Mark, and good luck. We're as determined as you are to achieve great things and you will hear our support very vocally at 3pm Saturday.

Goodnight Irene, I'll see you in my dreams.