New Town manager Jim Magilton pledged that he and first team coach Bryan Klug would bring back the Ipswich style after being unveiled at Monday morning's press conference at Portman Road. The duo have signed two-year contracts in their new positions with Tony Humes taking over as academy manager.

TWTD was first to report that a Magilton-Klug partnership was in the running for the position on May 26th, Joe Royle having left the club by mutual consent on May 11th. The board finally made their decision on Friday evening after an exhaustive process which had seen Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez interviewed earlier in the day.

The new appointments see assistant manager Willie Donachie and chief scout Colin Suggett leave the club with Magilton and Klug bringing in a new head of scouting and a director of football in the next few weeks.

Magilton will sign on as a player for the new season ahead but will only be used in the first team in emergencies, although he is keen to play in the reserves in order to give the club's emerging young talent the benefit of his experience.

A greater integration between the senior set-up and the academy appears to be central to the Magilton-Klug philosophy, the first team coach having worked with youngsters at the club since the late 1980s.

Chairman David Sheepshanks, flanked by Magilton, Klug and chief executive Derek Bowden, made the announcement at a 10am press conference: "After an exhaustive interview process during which many fine candidates have been interviewed, I am very excited to confirm that Jim Magilton will be the club's new manager with Bryan Klug at his side as first team coach.

"Jim's outstanding leadership qualities, passion for both the club and the job, and his will to be a winner have shone through from the very beginning of the process. He has outlined a clear strategy and plan of approach that has won the unanimous support of the board in making this appointment.

"With the expert assistance of Bryan Klug, who is qualified as one of the top coaches in England at UEFA Pro licence level, we are confident that we have installed a winning partnership.

"There will be those who see this as a gamble, however, this is the case with the selection of any manager from outside. We see it is a bold and progressive move, representing both continuity and change.

"Both men know the strengths and weaknesses of our playing staff with Bryan Klug having coached over half of the first team squad at academy level and equally both have a clear vision as to how they will restore our first team fortunes and lead the club back to the Premiership.

"Cut these two men in half and they bleed blue and white like us all who support and love this club.

"I hope all Town fans, past, present and future will join together and back them to the hilt. They will need time and our patience but we are confident that their arrival will herald a bright new era for the club."

A clearly delighted Magilton told TWTD: "It's a dream. It's been overwhelming, but I'm going to embrace the opportunity. People are obviously going to call it a gamble, but I've been here seven years, Bryan's been here 18. That's 25 years of experience at a football club, which means a lot.

"A new manager brings a new attitude and we expect a new attitude from the players. They're going to buy into how we want to play. I've never compromised as a player, I've always had the ability to pass it to someone else in my shirt, so our players have got to get used to that.

"We're going to bring a brand of football back that both Bryan and I agree will be the best way forward for us and we're really looking forward to getting our teeth into it."

The former Northern Irish international outlined what he wants from his team: "George Burley brought me in because of what I could give to him and his team and we're going to copy any style of football that we feel is right. But we want to bring a winning style of football, we want to bring a winning mentality.

"Yes, we have got a wonderful football club here with the finest traditions but we want to bring an atmosphere back that's going to intimidate opposing managers and players. We're in the business of results and, unless we get results, we're not going to be in the job very long.

"We aim to set our stall out right away. We're going to be hard to beat for a start, to win in a bit of style and we want to do it week-in, week-out, which is what every manager would say. It's something we want to implement right away and the players up and running right from the start."

Magilton says his early years at Anfield gave him a good grounding in the game: "The education I gained at Liverpool has stayed with me throughout my career. I had a fantastic education with regard to how players were treated and how players treated their job. They did it with a discipline and a dedication which was second to none and that was probably why they were so successful, and probably why the Ipswich sides here were so successful.

"We want to return to that style. It's how I was brought up in the game by Ronnie Moran, Roy Evans and Phil Thompson, who were great teachers. If I can implement their ideas and pass them on to these players, and we work hard and we dedicate ourselves to it, then success is the only way I can see it going."

The new duo will look at signing players over the summer, with the new share issue likely to give them some money to spend, but Magilton is tight-lipped on which areas he will strengthen: "We are looking at making additions, but at the moment it would be unfair to say where as I want the players to come in for pre-season training with a clean slate. I want them to come in relishing the opportunity of working with Bryan and myself and I'm sure they will.

"If we're buzzed about the whole idea, they will be too. I want them to be nervous of me. They knew what I was like as a player, but they have no idea what I'll be like as a manager. However, I've always had good lines of communication with them and I really, really look forward to working with them again.

"I hope it's exciting for the fans, I want them to be excited about it because we mean business and we want to start winning football matches again."

And the former skipper revealed that the reaction he received on his final Portman Road appearance had a major bearing on his decision to apply for Joe Royle's old job: "The reception I got at the end of last season planted a seed and it's gone on from there. Joe going was a real surprise. Joe's a fantastic person and was fantastic to me. He prolonged my football career and is someone I have the utmost respect for.

"The move back to the North-West has been firmly put on the back burner simply because of the opportunity which arose after Joe's departure."

The 37-year-old youngest manager in the Championship will announce the rest of his coaching staff soon: "I'll be looking to appoint a new chief scout and a director of football and when they are identified you'll be the first to know! There are cabinet changes and we've got the people we want and we'll announce them when they come here."

Klug, 45, a young player at Town under Sir Bobby Robson and a youth coach for the last 18 years, says he is relishing his chance to work with the senior squad: "It's a proud day for me. I've been here 18 years and it's never been something that I've actively sought, I've been happy in my other roles, but it's a fantastic opportunity and a great challenge. I'm sure working alongside someone like Jim will be a great experience and it's something that I couldn't turn down."

The former Chesterfield and Peterborough player will be the main man when it comes to coaching but expects Magilton to take a hands-on role: "Knowing Jim, although he hasn't got the badges I have, he has very strong thoughts and there's no way he won't be involved on the training field.

"He's got his own personality he'll be bringing on to the training field, so I anticipate that my job will be to show him the way to get his ideas over, but it will certainly be his team."

Klug says he will continue to play a part with the academy he helped instigate in 1998: "I will still have some involvement in the academy. The chairman talked in the press conference about the link all the way through from the academy to the first team, which I know every club would love to have.

"We pride ourselves on having a pretty good academy. I will be working with the first team but I will certainly be visible to all the young players all the way through, that's important."

In Tony Humes, Klug says he has an able successor: "Tony is an Ipswich man through and through. He's been with me for six years, as have the rest of the staff. Continuity is what has made us outstanding."

The new first team coach expects more graduates to emerge next season: "I'm sure the production line is working as well as ever, so it's just a question of being patient with those boys. Last year a lot of young boys came into the team, without doubt possibly before they were really ready. There are players still coming through and it's our job to improve those players in the squad."

Sheepshanks sees one or two similarities with George Burley when he was appointed manager in 1994: "In some ways, but everybody's different. Jim and George are different characters, but winners both of them, with very clear ideas.

"One of the qualities you look for in any leader is someone who has a clear vision, who can outline a strategy and somebody who has the ability to make a decision. Both George and Jim have those qualities in abundance. But Jim is undoubtedly more of an extrovert!"

The chairman outlined how he and the board came to choose Magilton: "I wrote to Jim at the end of the season, just a nice letter to thank him for everything he's done for the club, coincidentally a day or so after we parted company with Joe, and the next day I got a call from him asking if we'd take his application seriously if he applied.

"I said I would and the next day came a letter and a cv and we slotted him into the interview process and he blew our socks off. From the very beginning he came in and outlined the areas where he thought he could make a contribution, the areas that he wanted to change and was very impressive. So impressive that it didn't take Derek and I long to decide that he must go in front of the whole board.

"That interview was around two days later and he did the same thing again, he was tremendous in front of the whole board. So much so that he put himself in a very strong position.

"At that time we still had a couple of other interviews to undertake, so the board decided to delay making a decision until those were complete and we made the decision unanimously on Friday.

"Jim made it clear from the beginning that he'd spoken to Bryan and had asked Bryan if he'd be his first team coach. I spoke separately to Bryan, not in any way distrusting Jim, just to talk to him about it and how he saw it all, and he ticked all the boxes he needed to tick.

"Subsequently, some of the board met with Jim and Bryan together and they undertook another interview to search out what their plans were together. So, they actually undertook three interviews."

Sheepshanks concedes that there is some element of risk: "It's on merit, I can't emphasise strongly enough that there have been some strong candidates. But every candidate you appoint clearly has a risk. The risk with Jim is clearly that he's new to the job and there's a risk to outsiders in that you don't know about them and they are in a new culture.

"I think we have the best of both worlds. We hope to have Jim and Bryan's inside knowledge of the players and the continuity from inside. And also the fact that they do intend to make additional 'cabinet changes' as Jim has called them."

The chairman revealed two departures from the backroom staff: "Willie Donachie and Colin Suggett will be leaving, any other changes aren't decided at this juncture.

"With Colin leaving there will be a new position within scouting, beyond that it's up to Jim to decide exactly the make up and how it's going to work. He's very strong, as is Bryan, on this seamless transition from the academy into the first team. It's a big area of focus for him.

"Willie and Colin have been marvellous. They have done fantastic jobs for the club, they understand that in football when there's change, unfortunately it sometimes involves individuals.

"I'd like to place on record our gratitude for everything they've done. They are both excellent people and they've made their own special contributions to Ipswich Town.

"We're meeting them this week to settle their contracts. Joe's contract was settled two weeks ago. Everything's organised and I don't foresee any difficulties with Willie and Colin."

Sheepshanks has few worries at Klug being removed from the day-to-day running of the academy: "I've no concerns at Bryan being taken away from the academy. Firstly because he's still here and also because Tony Humes has been brought up to do this job. Tony is an Ipswich Town man, played during the eighties, usually with a bloody nose or head. He was a very tenacious player for the club.

"He's been brought up with the Ipswich Town traditions, then went away and was club captain at Wrexham for many years and was head of their centre of excellence and did it well.

"We brought him back here six years ago and he's learnt under Bryan, being made assistant academy director a couple of years ago and has done very well with the U16s. He has a similar approach to Bryan and I've every confidence that he can step up with his mentor.

"I think the new arrangement will mean the academy is more integrated into the rest of the club which is an important factor in all this.

"We're all very excited today and I hope supporters will get behind it but also be patient. I think it's going to work, although I'm sure there will be some tough moments along the way. Undoubtedly we might have the odd hiccough but I really believe that these guys have both the ability and the determination to succeed."

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