Appleton introduced as Rovers boss

Michael Appleton has finally been introduced as Blackburn Rovers new boss at this afternoon’s press conference.

Appleton gave a short yet clear introduction of himself and revealed the motivations behind arriving at Ewood Park ony two months after being named Blackpool boss.

The new man revealed it is the owners vision for the club that persuaded him to join the ranks and stated that the aim for him is to catch the play off pack, something he believes is still possible.

“Blackburn is a club that is steeped in history and there`s a lot of quality in the side,” Appleton told the press conference.

“It`s a club where the owners are very, very ambitious.

“They want to get back into the Premier League and I still believe there is an opportunity.

“This is an opportunity to work at a club that I believe is a Premier League club.

“I spoke to the owners and they convinced me about their ambition.”

Appleton confirmed that John Keeley has joined the club as Goalkeeping coach from Portsmouth who will replace the departed Bobby Mimms.

The owners have also promised the rather imposing Appleton full control over the football side of the club, with past dealings being somewhat clouded in the ay things are run at Rovers under the current set up.

“What was important was I have 100 per cent say on the football side of things and I`m happy they would give me full backing about that,” Appleton continued.

“There are 20 games to go so let`s see where we are with five or six games left .

“We believe catching the play-off group is still doable but I`m sure many other clubs view it the same way.”

Finally, Rovers 5th boss of the season has confirmed there will be leverage for him to add 2 or 3 new faces to the ranks in the January transfer window, which will come as a light surprise given the insistence that new signings would be a rarity earlier this month under Gary Bowyer.

Welcome to Ewood Park Michael.