AFTER the thankfully short wait, it's a warm welcome to Mark Hughes.

Great credit should go to the board for recognising the man they wanted and installing him before the Portsmouth game.

Our chances of winning that game increased tenfold when the appointment was made, such was the feelgood factor that was generated.

So, what can we hope for from our new manager?

Certainly a winner's mentality.

He was used to being a winner as a player and, remembering how he played the game, it would be hard to imagine that losing comes easy to him.

His achievements and his standing in football should also ensure the players have instant respect for him. Something it's patently clear that the previous manager had lost.

New and innovative ideas.

The reports from the Welsh camp are that training was never dull and that preparation for games was meticulous. Early word after Saturday's game was of the players having an ice bath to aid their body's recovery. I can't really comment on the success of this method but it has to be preferably to the Souness 'hairdryer technique'.

Improved man-management.

One of the main reservations that has been expressed is that Hughes has no experience of Premier League management. I don't think that is a problem.

As Wales manager he would encounter most of the problems that any manager would and the one thing that struck me most from his tenure there was the way a mediocre bunch were taken to the brink of the European championships.

There were lower division players in that side that didn't look out of place rubbing shoulders with the mighty Italians in the qualifiers. I can only surmise how they made that step up, but it's a fair bet the manager helped build them up for it mentally to believe that's where they belonged.

Obviously he's never dealt with the transfer side of the game, but if he doesn't know a good player now, he never will do.

Make no mistake though, this is no easy job for Sparky. The 'legacy' he has inherited is certainly not the best. In fact I see the job that he has to do as exactly the opposite of what Souness had to do on his arrival.

Souness came into a club where the players ruled the roost and, to be fair, he pulled the club up from the gutter with his hard-line methods. The eventual downside of that was that it led to too many fallouts and the dressing room was lost.

Hughes now has to win back that respect and instil confidence through good man-management rather than banging a few heads together. If the inspired recall of Matt Jansen is anything to go by, it looks like that problem could be quickly solved.

All in all, these are exciting times to be a Rovers fan again. We won't become a great team overnight but I'm pretty sure that with more consistency of tactics and team selection we can become an immeasurably better one.

Who knows, we might even get a penalty now!