Paul Ince itching to start at Blackburn Rovers

10:30am Saturday 5th July 2008

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NEW Blackburn manager Paul Ince insists he cannot wait to start working with his players at Rovers’ Brockhall training base.

Ince will start his new job for real on Monday morning when the squad reports back for the first day of pre-season training.

And Rovers’ new gaffer is itching to get straight down to business, a fortnight on from being named as the successor to Mark Hughes.

The 40-year-old former MK Dons boss said: “I can’t wait to get started.

“Mark Hughes has done a fantastic job, he’s stabilised the club, and last year the team finished seventh in the Premier League with 58 points.

“Now it’s down to me to try to improve on that, and I’m looking forward to getting down to work with the players.

“I know a few of them already. Obviously, I played with Brad (Friedel) at Liverpool, and I know David Bentley and people like that.

“But I’m aware of all of them because I used to watch the Premier League on television every Saturday night.”

Eager to hit the ground running on Monday morning, Ince has been busy assembling his backroom team over the last two weeks.

And, while he acknowledges the importance of continuity, the former England and Manchester United star is also keen to stamp his own authority on the job from day one.

“I’m looking forward to playing some good football and hopefully we can excite the fans,” said Ince.

“That’s the only way I know how to play because at all the other clubs I have been at, we’ve always played good football.

“That’s not to say we are going to be a weak team – we are still going to be a tough side to beat.

“But I want to play the game in the right way.

“This year is going to be a learning curve for me, as it probably was for Mark Hughes when he first came here, and it takes time to build the team that you exactly want.

“But we’ve got to stabilise the club, try to improve on the points total from last year, and then go from there.”