Bristol Rovers Appointment - The Penny Drops

Former Doncaster Rovers, Darlington and Oldham boss Dave Penney has taken on the job of managing Rovers following Paul Trollope's sacking in December. Penney guided Doncaster back into league football and also won the League Two title the following season. He spent six years as Donny before moving on to Darlington and Oldham Athletic, but left his Latics role in May last year.

Penney told the local media: "It is nice to get back in and straight down to it, which is just what I need. I made a conscious effort when I left Oldham to try and choose the right football club and I have been in a fortunate position to wait a bit.


This felt right when I had the interview. The club has great tradition and I don't think it is in the position it should be. I have watched the team and there are certainly things to build on. It is an exciting time for myself and something for me to get my teeth into. When you get the club moving in the right direction, the fans will be right behind you.

There is half the season left and plenty of time to turn things around. We need to get the players back at it and with a couple of additions we'll be a lot stronger. First and foremost we need to make sure we are in this division next season. Long-term the aim is to build on what we started."

The Bristol Evening Post (link below) carried the following on its website: "We are delighted to welcome Dave to the club," said Rovers' chairman Nick Higgs. "There were over 60 applications for the job and Dave quickly emerged as the top candidate. The interview process took slightly longer than anticipated as a number of candidates were in employment and we had to seek permission to talk to them.


During his interview Dave showed an understanding of what we need to do as a club to move forward, and an extensive knowledge of the lower divisions and lower league players. We believe we have a nucleus of good players, but the aim is to sign two or three new faces before the end of the transfer window."

More news to follow as it comes out of the Memorial Ground, but I've been told to get along there tomorrow evening to cover the relegation clash against Walsall ... who still haven't got a boss since Chris Hutchings recent sacking.

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/sport/Penney-takes-charge-Bristol-Rovers/article-3082212-detail/article.html