NEW Greenock boss John Doyle has made promotion his top target after taking charge at Ravenscraig this week, writes Mick Hydes. 

The former St Anthony's manager was announced as Tommy Molloy's replacement on Sunday and was introduced to his new squad at last night's training session.

The 43-year-old says he is determined to guide the club to the second tier of the West of Scotland Football League pyramid and intends to bolster a squad strong enough to seriously challenge for a top four finish.

He told the Tele: "I’m delighted to be the boss of a good club and I've had a lot of well-wishers already.

"I am aware that only the Conference winners make it into next season's Premier Division and that is maybe beyond us.

"However, the aim will be to finish inside the top four places as this will ensure a place in next season's rearranged second tier.

"Anything below that would mean we would be competing within the third tier and that is not where this club should be.

"To start making sure this happens means to start winning again and this begins on Saturday at Kello."

Doyle comes to Greenock with good experience, which has included a spell as manager of St Anthony's, together with his previous role as first-team coach at Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.

Doyle unveiled his new backroom team of ex-Kilbirnie Ladeside captain Ciaran Donnelly, former Forth Wanderers boss Graham Cairns and goalkeeping coach Gary Bishop, who recently played as a trialist in 'Nock's recent 8-0 win at Carluke.

Gary Fleming is also staying put in a player-coach role.

Doyle already has first hand knowledge of his new side after watching them narrowly lose to his former side Rob Roy in the Scottish Junior Cup a few weeks ago.

With the in-depth knowledge and the contact-base of the new management team, Doyle is confident he can take Greenock to the next level but believes he will need to add fresh faces to the squad to make this possible.

He said: "I've seen the team in action at first-hand and this is one of the reasons that the role was attractive to me.

"I’ve spoken to Tommy [Molloy] and he told me that the squad has a lot of quality and plays with good width, especially on the Ravenscraig surface.

"However, I know, as mentioned previously, that they have suffered a little bit in recent weeks with selections as they had to play three trialists in the back four last weekend against Thorniewood, which is far from ideal.

"My role and my staff’s is to improve this and ensure we have a good team on the park every week and we will only do that by adding to and improving the squad."

Doyle and his backroom team will step up their preparations for their first match at Kello Rovers when they take their first training session tomorrow night.

The Govan native hopes to get his new reign off to a flying start in Kirkconnel.

He added: "I know it won't be easy. Kello maybe struggling near the foot of the table but they are playing on their own ground and have recently undergone a change of management themselves just a few weeks ago.

"They will have made changes and improvements with new players wanting to make their mark in the side.

"We are expecting a good competitive match that myself and our new backroom team are all looking forward to."