OWEN Coyle has made former Celtic striker Anthony Stokes the first signing of his Blackburn Rovers reign.

Rovers boss Coyle is attempting to make a host of new additions before pre-season training starts.

And Stokes will definitely be among the party of players congregating on Brockhall on Monday week.

The 27-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Rovers following his release from Celtic.

And Stokes said: “I’m delighted. I had a good chat with the gaffer during the week and was very impressed with him.

“He had only positive things to say about me and I’m just looking forward to bedding in, getting a good pre-season under my belt and just looking forward to the start of the season.

“For myself, having a manager that believes in me gives me a lot of confidence and as a striker you need that, but it’s going to be down to how I perform.

“So I’ll need to put in the hard work, try to get a good pre-season under my belt and really kick on this season.

“But I have to say, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Stokes scored 77 goals in 192 games across a six-year spell with Celtic where he won four Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup.

The Republic of Ireland international made just two appearances for the Glasgow giants this season after falling out of favour with boss Ronny Deila.

He re-joined Hibs on loan in January and netted nine goals in 25 games including a brace in their historic Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers in which he was named man of the match.

Stokes was freed by new Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers earlier this month and that led to a host of Championships clubs expressing their interest.

His suitors reportedly included Birmingham City, Leeds United, Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United, whose new boss Alan Stubbs had signed the forward for Hibs.

But Stokes, who has hit 131 career goals in 345 appearances, chose Rovers after holding talks with Coyle on Tuesday.

He said: “I think it was down to the gaffer really.

“I met him the other day – I’ve come across him once or twice before but without ever really having a good opportunity to speak to him – and everything he said really sat very well with me and it was very positive.

“I get a feeling for moves a lot of the time and there were different options available, but this time round this seemed like the right move for me.

“The facilities here, the stadium, it’s a top-class setup and that was one of the reasons as well, because you want to go into an environment where you can get the best out of yourself and I genuinely believe that I can do that here.”

The former Arsenal youngster, who has also had a spell at Sunderland, where he won the Championship, passed his medical at Brockhall yesterday morning.

Stokes, who scored 24 goals in 48 games in his first stint at Hibs, then put the finishing touches to his move at Ewood Parkm where he put pen to paper on a deal tying him to the club until the summer of 2019.