ALEX McLeish said he 'cannot wait to get started' at Nottingham Forest, after the club moved quickly to appoint him as Sean O'Driscoll's successor.
The former Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Scotland and Rangers boss took on the job just 24 hours after O'Driscoll had been surprisingly relieved of his duties, following a 4-2 win over Leeds United that lifted the club to within a point of the play-off places in the npower Championship.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson may have played a role in McLeish's appointment.
The Old Trafford legend has links with the Al Hasawi family and is believed to have encouraged them to plump for his fellow Scotsman, a man he managed at Aberdeen.
McLeish will take charge for the first time when the Reds face Crystal Palace at the City Ground tomorrow.
"I'm really looking forward to working with Nottingham Forest," said McLeish, 53, who steered City to promotion from the Championship – and to their highest ever finish (ninth) in the Premier League.
"I've had time away from the game and now feel refreshed and ready to go. The fact that a club of Forest's magnitude has offered me a job excites me greatly – it's a wonderful opportunity.
"I can't wait to get started and I'm looking forward to meeting the players, talking to them and taking my first training session."
McLeish also won the League Cup with Birmingham, before leaving to join city rivals Aston Villa at the start of last season. He lasted only a season at Villa Park before being replaced in the summer.
But he will be hoping for a repeat of his successes at Birmingham and with Glasgow Rangers, where he won the Scottish treble amongst a host of other silverware, following his return to the game.
Winger Andy Reid says Forest's players were sad to see O'Driscoll leave the club. But he says the Reds squad will maintain a professional approach under the circumstances.
"We are all very sad to see Sean go as we all had a great relationship with him in the dressing room," said Reid , who was one of the many players in the dressing room who encouraged the club's owners to appoint O'Driscoll back in the summer.
"But we have to be professional now and make sure we do right by the club and for the fans.
"It is vital we follow up the result and the performance against Leeds with another one against Crystal Palace.
"The result on Boxing Day has left us in a fantastic position and we need to capitalise on it.
"Everyone is playing to impress a new manager and everyone will be starting with a clean slate. So it is important that everyone is in the right frame of mind to take on that challenge."
Having taken the bold step of removing O'Driscoll, with a view to giving the new manager time to make additions in the January transfer window, Forest have moved swiftly to make an appointment.
McLeish's first task will be to secure a home win against Palace tomorrow, to win over the large sections of Forest fans who remain sceptical about his arrival.
But, beyond that, he will be backed in the transfer market as he looks to satisfy the Al Hasawi family's ambitions for Premier League football.
