ROVERS Chief Executive Steve Waggott revealed he has a direct communication line with owners Venky’s and plans to make at least four visits a year to India.

Waggott was appointed to the role in December and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the club.

He said he will be ‘open and transparent’ with Rovers fans over how the club is performing and, having overseen a successful January transfer window, his attention now turns to improving commercial opportunities and trying to attract more supporters back to Ewood Park.

Venky’s advisor Suhail Pasha had been the main line of communication between East Lancashire and India, with Finance Director Mike Cheston previously the most senior figure at the club.

On how the new structure will work, Waggott, who held similar posts at Coventry City, Charlton Athletic and most recently Southend United, said: “Mike will report in to me because he’s the Finance Director.

“All staff in the club report to me, Suhail is in an advisory capacity to liaise with the owners alongside me but I have direct access to the owners as well.

“I think in the past the only lines of communication, most recently that I know of, has been Suhail with the owners.

“Since I have come in I have had direct access to the owners, but Suhail has that experience and I have been in a transitional stage for a while, but eventually I am going to build up a relationship with the owners and get more and more discussions with them and I’m also going at least four times a year to India to report back.

“There will be board meetings held in India so they can observe the performance of the business and they can impose on me whatever strategic direction they want it to go in.

“I’m very keen to keep communication channels being open upwards to the owners and across and down to the fans and being quite open and transparent with them on how the club is performing.”

Waggott had been in talks with Rovers over the role since October and said the job was one ‘he couldn’t refuse’.

He travelled to India to meet with the owners before being offered the position and is planning regular trips to Pune.

He added: “I suggested that from a communication point of view if I’m going to communicate out and be the voice and face of the club to the supporters and all of the various stakeholders then how does the communication lines work to them (the owners)?

“I would suggest that it’s regular visits to meet them, give them updates as well as other communication over telephone and email.

“They suggested a minimum of four visits a year which I totally agreed with and it could be more, depending on the situation.”

Rovers have been without a Chief Executive since the departure of Paul Hunt in 2012, while Paul Agnew left his post as the club’s general manager in 2013.

Former Director of Football and Operations Paul Senior resigned after relegation from the Championship in May.

On his remit Waggott added: “It was that I come in as Chief Executive, run all the operational side, all the reporting lines come up to me, I will make the key decisions, recommend them to them (the owners) for approval and get on with the job.

“The key aim is to get out of the league this year, we don’t want to get down in League One syndrome as Sheffield United had. It’s tough getting out so coming to the club what would my first 100 days be?

“The first 30 or 40 of them were going to be on the transfer window and look at the depth of the squad.

“Now I’m moving into the next phase of commercial, alongside all the community integration of the club, so we have a rounded approach to position the club going forward.”