Brian Laws is relishing the challenge of being appointed manager of Burnley. The former Clarets player has returned to Turf Moor as boss on a two-and-a-half-year deal and admitted it felt like coming home.
Speaking at his unveiling, Laws told Sky Sports News: "There's still some people here that I played with and worked with so it's almost like coming back home and I am relishing the challenge, I'm looking forward to it and I'm honoured that Burnley has asked me to be their manager."
Laws left Hillsborough by mutual consent in December and when asked how much of a turnaround it was for him, he replied: "I've been in the game a long time. Even though I'm 48 I've managed over 700 games and I've had two clubs in 14 years so I've had the experiences in all the divisions and the one that we're all striving to get to is the Premier League and there are very few opportunities that come along.
"I think this is a perfect opportunity, not just for myself, but I think the combination, the way that Burnley want to play, the ethos of the football club, it is just we match each other on that.
"I want to be challenged with the best, just as much as the players and the supporters - just because it's not on my CV and I haven't worked in the Premiership doesn't necessarily say I can't do the job. I'm a manager and I manage football clubs."
Laws does not see his lack of top-flight experience as a problem, agreeing you have got to start somewhere.
"You have - I'm grateful for the opportunity, don't get me wrong, I think Owen Coyle's done a fantastic job," he said.
"He's had a whirlwind of an 18 months and he's left a great team, spirited team but Owen's moved on and he's dropped the baton, I want to pick it up with the players, we've got a challenge on our hands, we want to take this forward and get across the finishing line that we're staying in the Premiership.
"There's an ultimate aim by everybody and in particular the supporters, they have driven this club for a long time, and nobody likes coming to Burnley to play because the atmosphere is fantastic, the crowd are right behind us and I think all of us together, pulling in the right direction, will achieve that success."
Laws acknowledged that Coyle would be a hard act to follow but he believes in his managerial capabilities. He added: "The difficulty for any manager taking over any football club is when they've had success.
"A manager's left, however he's left a good base to work from. There's still areas that we need to work on, ultimately we have got to work on our away performances, in particular results, and that's something that we'll try and strive to improve on, because we've got to try everything possible to stay in the Premiership.
"It's a fantastic foundation that's been left and he's done a terrific job and should be thanked greatly for it but we've got to move on and the players have expressed that."
He added: "Make no mistake, I'm a manager that shows passion, wants to win and I want to be part of that and I'll do everything possible to be successful."
Laws understands he would have to work within financial constraints but he added there was no substitute for hard work.
"If we work just as hard as everybody else, we've got just as much chance of staying in this Premier League - in fact not only staying in it, being comfortable in it."
