He said on Bristol City Player TV: “I’m delighted. It’s been a long process with lots of speculation, so I was delighted to be given permission to speak with the chairman and owner last week.
“I’m very excited by the challenge ahead – it’s a fantastic opportunity. I had a good relationship with the chairman, players and supporters at St Johnstone and I’m looking to build that here at Bristol City.
“I was offered the Brentford job before but I felt at the time I still had work to do at St Johnstone. For those reasons the Brentford job wasn’t right, but that certainly wasn’t the case here.
“As soon as I heard Bristol City were interested I was very keen to come down and discuss the move. Traditionally it’s a very big club. Some people say the team just needs to get going and hopefully we can do that with immediate effect.
“Sometimes opportunities come along because clubs are struggling. I’ve looked at the squad of players we have here and I’m very excited by that.
“We’ve still got 30-odd games to go, which in Scotland is an entire campaign. It’s important to go and influence the players and instil some confidence into their play.
“I’m very excited by the challenge ahead. Yes, we’re bottom of the league and yes, we’d prefer to be further up the table but it’s our job as staff and players to do that.”
McInnes left St.Johnstone at a time with the club in fifth place in the SPL.
McInnes added: “In the Scottish Premier League we operate in a league you can’t win. Only Rangers and Celtic have the chance to win the league in Scotland, the finances dictate that,” Derek said. When we won promotion from the (Scottish) First Division we knew our only chance of success was through the cups, along with progress in the league. The team I’ve left behind is certainly capable of challenging, but it’s the variety that I’ll find in the Championship that I’m looking forward to.
“I’ve played in England and it’s exciting. The Championship is demanding, I’ve played in it and certainly the last few seasons I’ve seen have been excellent. I can’t wait to get started.”
He continued: “I can sit here and say I want an open, attacking philosophy from my team. More importantly though, we need to get a system of play that suits the team and one that gets results.
“We’ve got a big squad here and I’ve plenty of players to choose from. Everyone will be given a clean slate because I come here with an open mind. If I feel we need one or two players to make us better then I’ll look to try and do that.
“Like the players, I come with an open mind about the staff here. Of course I’ve brought Tony (Docherty) with me and he’s somebody I rely very heavily on. The players will enjoy working with him, his training and man-management skills.
“I’ll assess everything during my time here as quickly as possible.”
McInnes continued: “I loved my time with St Johnstone but you are always looking to improve and now is the right time. I love management.”
“Everyone will be given a clean slate because I come here with an open mind. If I feel we need one or two players to make us better then I’ll look to try and do that.”
McInnes has a tough job on his hands as Bristol City are bottom of the Championship table.
“The board haven’t set targets, they want to see an improvement,” he said. “Clearly we need to maintain Championship status and we’ve got plenty of points to play for to ensure that is the case.
“Nobody likes seeing the team at the bottom of the table and we have to put in a lot of hard work to change that.
“Like every club this size, initially we have to stay in the Championship but we have to push on. We want the opportunity to perform in the Premier League. In time we have to earn the right to do that and it’s something we’re working towards.
“I’m looking forward to the game on Sunday. We’ll watch Birmingham in the Europa League tonight and then we’ll start working with the coaches to picking a team for the game.
“It’s not about me this weekend, it’s about the team and hopefully taking three points.”
Source: Official Bristol City FC website
