Slade excited by Bloom era dawn

Slade took over at Brighton in March

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Russell Slade has said he is excited by the club's new direction, under new chairman Tony Bloom.

Bloom is to provide funding for the £93m Falmer stadium and is keen for a swift return to the Championship.

Slade told BBC Sussex: "There's going to be good backing, there's going to be a gameplan to move forward and we're identifying targets already.

"The future is bright. It doesn't guarantee success but it is bright."

Slade is hoping for drama at the right end of the table after an all-too-recent battle at the other.

He said: "It'll be nice to think that we can be in a situation where we're challenging to get out of this league rather than - as at the end of the season - challenge to stay in the league."

And the former Yeovil boss has said he is not worried by the new ambition: "No, which way would you rather have it? You'd rather have that pressure to be successful, I'd rather the chairman be ambitious and want to take the club forward rather than consolidating and looking to survive.

"That's not going to help anybody and that's not want anybody wants, it's not what I want, it's not what the players want, it's not what the fans want. We all want to be successful. To have ambitious people pushing the club forward is only good."