BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder David Dunn says he's excited by the prospect of playing for the club's new Guv'nor.

After a lengthy search, Rovers' chairman, John Williams, finally got his man last night when he appointed Paul Ince as the club's new manager.

And Dunn believes the former England and Manc-hester United star will prove to be the perf-ect replace-ment for Mark Hug-hes, who quit Rovers a fortnight ago to join Manchester City.

"I'm looking forward to wor-king with him," said Dunn last night, after hearing about Ince's appointment.

"He's obviously done well at the last two clubs he's been at, and I'm sure he'll be a big success here too.

"He's young, he's ambitious, and he was a terrific player as well so, in many ways, he's like Mark Hughes.

"Both were winners as players, and they like to instil that in their players too."

Ince will be formally unveiled as Rovers' new boss at a specially arranged press conference at midday tom-orrow.

Then, once the formalities are out of the way, he will begin stamping his own personality on the job, having beaten Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren and Michael Laudrup in the race for the Ewood hot-seat.

"Whenever a new manager comes in, it's inevitable there are going to be changes, so I'm looking forward to seeing what new ideas he brings in," said Dunn.

"It was disappointing to lose Mark Hughes, as I said at the time, but that's football.

"Now this is a fresh start for everyone, and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

"Paul was a great player and a real leader, and I'm sure he'll prove to be exactly the same as a manager."

Coincidentally, Ince was one of the first opponents Dunn ever faced in the Premier League, and that encounter had a profound effect on the Rovers midfielder at the time.

Now Rovers' new boss will be in a position to influence Dunn's career again.

"I made my debut against Liverpool and Paul Ince and Jamie Redknapp were both playing in the centre of midfield that day," recalls Dunn.

"I just remember they were both great with me.

"If I made a decent pass, they both complimented me, and that stuck in my memory, because I thought it was great to hear two top players saying stuff like that."