Stephen Glass stepped into the Aberdeen hot seat and set his sights on getting to the Scottish Cup final.
The new Dons manager came out of quarantine for his first day at Cormack Park on Tuesday, along with assistant Allan Russell.
Glass will take charge of the team for the first time in Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth round clash at home to Livingston but already has ambitions of going all the way to Hampden.
In the league, the Dons have four games left to chase down third-placed Hibs.
But Glass is already thinking about another four - in the form of a run to the Cup final at the end of May and ending a 31-year wait to lift the famous trophy.
Glass stated: “I know the work ethic of the group and I can’t wait to get going.
“It’s a great challenge and that’s why we’re here - we want to push the club on.
“It’s in a great position, sitting in the latter rounds of the cup. We thought it was going to be Sunday but it’s now Saturday and that’s another challenge that gets thrown at us.
“But the win at the weekend in the league as well means there is still a lot to play for.
“I think it’s eight massive games coming up and we want to win them for a successful end to the season.”
Glass is delighted to get Russell on board. The England striking coach comes in now and they will be joined with Scott Brown in the summer.
Glass stated: “He’s very well respected from the work he does with England, the set pieces and with the forwards.
“But he’s so much more than that - he’s a well-rounded coach who has some great ideas and we’re very fortunate to have him.
“I worked hard to get him in and the club worked so hard. He’s giving up a lot, a lot of family time that he could easily have kept on.
“But he wants to be part of what’s going to happen at the club.”
The former Atlanta United 2 coach had spent the last 10 days in isolation but he has put that time to good use.
He added: “I watched, from a distance, the team doing well, which was great. We can’t wait to get our teeth into it now.
“I’ve been watching the team training, kept an eye on the games and getting a handle of the opposition that are coming up as well. There is a lot of footage you can take and get on top of.”
Glass also revealed there will be changes for the weekend visit of Davie Martindale’s Livi.
He confirmed: “We can put a few things in their head, put a few pictures in their head from what we have seen going into the game against Livingston.
“Things we expect, principles we want to see that will hopefully be here for years to come.
“There will be a little bit of a difference in the team on Saturday and I think you’ll see.
“I’m hopeful the results will bear fruit on that as well.”
Glass also took time to praise interim boss Paul Sheerin, who took charge after Derek McInnes’s departure until Glass completed his quarantine.
The incoming boss gave Sheerin full autonomy and praised him for his bravery, as he threw several youngsters like Jack MacKenzie, Connor Ramsay and Ethan Ross into the fold while picking up wins over St Johnstone and Dumbarton.
The new manager, speaking on RedTV, stated: “It was exciting when the goals went in.
“The team has done well over the last few weeks and Paul has done great.
“A lot of the young lads have been given opportunities and full debuts and Paul has been really brave in that respect of putting them in the team.
“There are some full debuts in there and guys starting big, important games for the club.
“That’s not a throwaway thing, it’s really important to be putting young players in.”
