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Our new team manager, Jim McIntyre, ended a busy day of media interviews at Balmoral Stadium by chatting to Head of Media and Communications, Richard Gordon.

Welcome to Cove Rangers, Jim. I would like to begin by asking, what it’s like to be back in the game?

Thanks very much Richard, I’m absolutely delighted.

I have to say it has come out of the blue, mainly because I don’t think anyone expected Paul (Hartley) to leave Cove, he had done such a brilliant job with the players. I came through for an interview and was impressed – we had first spoken on Zoom, but it’s always better to actually meet people. It allows you get a feel for them, and they can also get a feel for you.

It was all agreed pretty quickly after that.

It’s a great opportunity for me to get back, probably one that I thought was slipping away. It’s a chance at a club that is on the up, although it’s a level that Cove have never been at before. It’s going to be a difficult challenge, playing in the Championship for the first time, but it’s one that I feel the squad already in place at the moment are more than capable of competing at.

It’s rare that you get the opportunity to take over a club in as strong a position as Cove Rangers are in, managers tend to be firefighting when they come into a new job. Does that make it easier or more difficult for you?

I’ve actually got a wee bit of experience on this one. It happened to me at Queen of the South, I took that job in the July, when Alan Johnston got poached by Kilmarnock.

The squad was already set, so in some ways there is a lot of similarities, albeit there is still a few players required to be added here at Cove. The best thing is I’ve inherited a group of players who are used to winning games and winning titles.

They have been really successful, and you can’t buy that.

There is also enough experience in that dressing room to know that the Championship is a big step up but, as I said earlier, it’s one that I believe they are more than capable of making. The best way to judge things when you go into a new league is to get through the first round of games and see where you are after that.

By then, you have eyed everybody up, you have seen what the opposition has to offer. You can then have a chat with the boys and say ‘right, this is what we are facing.’

So, what are your priorities now that your appointment at Cove Rangers has been announced and the start of the season is coming towards us quickly?

The first priority is to meet the players. I’m really looking forward to doing that and also to getting back on a training pitch and doing what I love to do.

I expect my telephone will also be red hot with agents and other contacts offering players our way. In terms of players, it’s important that we make the right signings. It could take a couple of weeks to do that, which isn’t ideal because you would like to have everyone in the building for the start of pre-season. But you have to make sure you are bringing in the right type of players, ones who would add to the abundance of quality we already have.

The chairman (Keith Moorhouse) has spoken about the main aim being to keep Cove Rangers in the Championship, is that a realistic target?

Yes, you have to be sensible when you have just stepped up to a higher level and that means the first priority is to maintain your status.

But, like any manager or player, you always have higher aspirations.

You only need to look at what Arbroath did in the Championship last season for inspiration. They were unbelievable and showed there can always be a surprise package, even in a division as competitive as the Championship is.

Having said that, you won’t catch anyone at Cove shouting their mouths off about doing this or doing that. It’s not my style and certainly not the club’s style.

Like I said, we will keep our heads down until we have come through that first round of league fixtures. That will then allow us to better gauge what we might be capable of achieving over the course of the whole campaign.

I know from my own experiences that we are now in one of the most competitive leagues in the Scottish game. You only need to look back to last year for proof of that.

There were so many teams involved in the fight for promotion as well as against relegation, none of those issues were really decided until the last few weeks. That’s because it has always been such a tight league, with any side capable of beating anyone on their day.

You need to be right at it, week in, week out, to have any chance of enjoying a good season at Championship level.

You mentioned at the beginning how much you had been missing the game and I can see by the smile on your face and the excitement in your eyes that you are relishing this opportunity. Were you worried you might not get another chance to manage at the top level?

You do get to a stage when you start to feel comfortable with what you find yourself doing and wonder if you will get back in. I had the sense to go and retrain and start up my own business as a personal trainer.

That had been going brilliantly for the last year or so.

I was also seeing more of my family and not facing any of the normal pressures at the weekend, so I was really enjoying my life. But there was never a day went past without me thinking at some stage about how much I was missing football.

When I saw the prizes being handed out at the end of last season – and saw my wee pal (Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Billy Dodds) in the play-offs – it got the fire burning in my belly again.

While this opportunity has come out of the blue, I feel it’s the perfect timing for me.

There was never any hope of me saying no because I knew if I did there was a fair chance I might end up having to be a personal trainer for the rest of my life. I’m really, really pleased to be here and simply can’t wait to get started.

And finally, you have a reputation for being a bit of a fiery character, so which Jim McIntyre we are going to see in the dugout?

I don’t think that will change. I might be slightly mellower, but it’s good to have a passion for the game and desire to win.

All I ever ask of my team is that they are as good as they can be.

If they can come off that pitch knowing they have given everything they have, they won’t hear any complaints from me.

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