BLACKBURN Rovers' new 'Guv'nor' Paul Ince has vowed to lead the club into an exciting new era after being handed the responsibility of building on Mark Hughes' legacy.

Ince was due to be formally unveiled as Rovers' new boss today at a high noon press conference, having accepted the challenge of replacing Hughes in the Ewood Park hot-seat.

And the former England and Manchester United ace, who beat a host of more experienced managers to the job, says he intends to repay the Rovers board for putting their faith in him by proving he has what it takes to be a major success in the Premier League.

In an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, Ince said: "I'm delighted to have been given this chance.

"When you look at what Sam Allardyce has done in the game, and Steve McClaren, who I know is a fantastic coach after working with him at Middlesbrough, to come through ahead of people like them, and Michael Laudrup, and Henk Ten Cate, just shows what belief Blackburn have in me, and I hope I can repay that.

"This is a great challenge for me and I'm very excited by it.

"Mark Hughes did an absolutely fantastic job here and it's now down to me to continue that, and hopefully squeeze a bit more out of the squad if I can."

Having served an impressive apprenticeship in the lower leagues, first with Macclesfield Town, and then MK Dons, who he led to a league and cup double in League Two last season, Ince was hungry for an opportunity to test himself in the Premier League, so he jumped at the chance to speak to Rovers once Hughes left for Manchester City almost three weeks ago.

However, he then feared his chances of securing a dream move to Ewood were going to be scuppered by red tape, with the Premier League threatening to block his appointment because he lacked the necessary coaching badges.

Thankfully, though, Rovers fought the 40-year-old's corner and, much to Ince's relief, he was finally granted a special dispensation by the league last Friday, which cleared the way for him to be appointed as Hughes' successor.

"The most important thing for me was I felt wanted," said Ince.

"The situation with the qualifications was difficult, but John Williams has been absolutely fantastic.

"He was a real pillar of strength for me through all of that because there were times when I thought I wasn't going to get the job.

"But he pursued the situation and made it clear he wanted me to be the manager of his football club."

Ince is desperate to get his teeth into his new job and, once today's formalities are out of the way, he insists his first priority will be to persuade David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz that their futures lie at Ewood.

"Any manager starting his first year in the Premier League wants to keep his best players, so I'll be speaking to Bentley and Santa Cruz, and indeed all of my players, and then we'll go from there," said Rovers' new boss.

"It's hard to form an opinion until you've spoken to the players directly, but of course I want to do well this season, and I want to start off well at Blackburn, not just for myself but for the people who have stuck by me, and for the fans.

"And getting rid of your best players is not the best way to go about that."

Another issue Ince is keen to address is the make-up of his backroom staff, with Ray Mathias, his trusted number two at MK Dons, set to join him at Rovers, along with several others from the League Two champions.

"I've had people with me for the last two years and we've been successful in what we've done," said Ince.

"They are also trustworthy and loyal, and you need people like that around you.

"Obviously, this is a big step up for them, just as it's a big step up for me, but we are excited by this challenge, and the fact we are at such a fantastic football club.

"In many ways, this reminds me of when I was at West Ham, because that was a great family club too."

With an experienced team alongside him to help guide him along the way, Ince is convinced he can emulate what Hughes achieved during his four years in the Ewood hot-seat, and get Rovers pushing for the top-six again.

He added: "That's not just the challenge for me; that's the challenge for clubs like Aston Villa and Tottenham too.

"Being realistic, it's very difficult to challenge the top four because of the finances they've got.

"But this club has always been in the top half of the table, it has always challenged for Europe, and that has to be my aim - to get this club back into a UEFA spot."