PAUL Lambert swept into Blackburn Rovers on a wave of positivity yesterday after being unveiled as the club’s new manager.

Lambert’s appointment has been met with widespread approval by Rovers fans who have snapped up the remaining tickets for his first game in charge away to Preston North End on Saturday.

And now the 46-year-old, whose side will be roared on by nearly 5,500 fans at the Deepdale derby, is determined to repay their support by attempting a charge toward the Championship play-offs.

Rovers are currently 11 points off the top six after winning three, drawing eight and losing five of their opening 16 league matches.

But Lambert, who led Norwich City to back-to-back promotions to the Premier League, said: “The challenge is to try and get out of the league.

“It’s a massive opportunity for ourselves and my backroom staff. We are raring to go and let’s see what happens.

“There are still a lot of games to be played and I know from experience if you do have a run you can maybe sneak in there.

“We’re a wee bit off it. We have to win games. To do that you might have that run, but if we can get the fans coming and get that support, we’ve got a chance.

“It will take time, we’re just in, and we have to assess everyone and how they perform, but we’ll certainly go on the front foot.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Lambert’s CV as a player and as a manager meant he was not short of offers after leaving Aston Villa in February.

Championship rivals QPR and Fulham, who are still in the market for new bosses, were both interested in the former Scotland international.

But once he received a call from Rovers owners Venky’s asking him to be Gary Bowyer’s successor, he had a ‘gut feeling’ that the 1995 Premiership champions were the ‘perfect’ club for him.

“I got the call and asked whether I would be interested, and it went from there,” said Lambert, a Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund who played against Rovers for Celtic on their way to the 2003 UEFA Cup final.

“I had a few opportunities to go elsewhere as well but this feels perfect to come into. We’re a little bit off the play-offs at the minute but there are still a lot of games to play.

“Sometimes as a football person you get a gut feeling that you think it can work, and we’ve got a really good staff and there’s a good squad of players here.

“There are some talented footballers that we have to get a bit more out of them but I think Gary Bowyer did a terrific job here under really hard circumstances. So we’ll try to carry on that work and better it, and try and make this club successful.

“The infrastructure is there. I’ve been up at the training ground this morning and it’s excellent. The stadium’s there for it, the club’s been in the Premier League before, it’s actually won it. It’s got the potential to go again into it.

“If we can do a really good job and work hard with the players then we’ve definitely got a chance.”