BLACKBURN Rovers captain Grant Hanley admitted he was gutted to see Gary Bowyer sacked – but now he cannot wait to play his part in an exciting new era under Paul Lambert.

New boss Lambert will kick-off his Rovers reign tomorrow with a hotly anticipated Lancashire derby at Preston North End.

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It will be the 46-year-old’s first game in charge of the club after replacing Bowyer in the Ewood Park hotseat.

Bowyer and his number two Terry McPhillips were responsible for bringing Hanley through the Rovers ranks and they handed him the captaincy last year.

The academy graduate felt for the pair after they lost their jobs along with the rest of the first-team staff including coach Craig Short.

But birthday boy Hanley, who turns 24 today, is looking forward to learning from Lambert and has already been impressed by his training methods.

“I was gutted for them because I’ve known them a long time,” said the Scotland international defender, who joined Rovers as a 16-year-old.

“Since I’ve been here Gary and Terry backed me the whole way. They’ve been brilliant for me and I’ve not got a bad word to say about them. If it wasn’t for them maybe my career wouldn’t be as far on as it is.

“There’s Shorty as well. He’s been here the last couple of years and I built up a good relationship with him.

“It was sad but that’s football and you can’t be disappointed for too long.

“We wish them all the best but we’ve got to move on and we’ve got a new manager in now and we’re excited and looking forward to his new ideas and freshening things up.”

Lambert, alongside assistant manager Alan Irvine, first-team coach Rob Kelly, and goalkeeping coach Laurence Batty, took training for the first time on Monday.

And, after spelling out what he expects from the players, he has had them in every day this week to prepare for tomorrow’s Preston clash.

And Hanley said: “The intensity of training has been top notch – and not just because it’s a new manager coming in and everybody wants to impress, but because of the demands he has put on us.

“Training has been enjoyable. We’ve worked really hard and it’s enjoyable when you work hard because you see the rewards.

“The lads have had a good week and now we’re just looking forward to Saturday.”

Hanley, a Rangers fan, grew up watching Lambert play for Celtic and Scotland after he returned from Germany where he won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund.

And the Rovers skipper said of his new manager, who led Norwich City to back-to-back promotions: “Anybody who has played at the level he has played at, and the managerial jobs he’s had, and the success he’s had, everyone has give him respect because of that.

“He’s come in, set his stall out early doors with the lads, everybody knows what’s expected of us. It’s good.”

Rovers will make the short trip to Deepdale tomorrow on the back of a three-match unbeaten run that started after they lost their last derby meeting with bitter rivals Burnley.

And Hanley said: “It’s a massive game, another massive derby, especially for the fans.

“The lads are right up for it. The focus has been on us this week and we know what we have to do to win the game.

“We’re looking forward to it and, as I said before the Burnley game, these are the games you play for and want to be involved in. Hopefully we’ll put a performance in and get the three points.”