MICHAEL Appleton has revealed that he decided to become Blackburn Rovers’ new boss because of the owners’ ambitions for the club.

Appleton has been unveiled as Rovers’ new manager at a press conference at Ewood Park this afternoon, after quitting Blackpool to take the job.

The 37-year-old had been in charge at Bloomfield Road for only two months but was persuaded to join Rovers because he believes Venky’s are ambitious to return to the Premier League as quickly as possible.

“Blackburn is a club that is steeped in history and there’s a lot of quality in the side,” Appleton said.

“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 the appointment of John Keeley, who he worked alongside at Portsmouth, as Rovers’ new goalkeeping coach.

He revealed that he was keen for Gary Bowyer to remain with the first-team coaching set-up, but said that Rovers' recent caretaker boss has decided to return to his job working with the reserves and youth players.

Appleton is also aiming to add to the squad before the closure of the transfer window and said he would be happy to work with global adviser Shebby Singh.

“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 said.

“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.”