By Pete Oliver

Harvey had been Morecambe's manager since July 1994

New Forest Green Rovers boss Jimmy Harvey has swapped the top end of the Conference for the bottom - but is relishing the scrap ahead.

Harvey landed the manager's job at The New Lawn after completing his return to health following a heart-attack he suffered on a match-day last November.

After recovering he had expected to resume his duties as the long-serving manager of Morecambe.

Instead he was shown the door in favour of Sammy McIlroy.

You can see the ambition of the chairman Forest Green boss Jim Harvey

Less than impressed, Harvey dipped his toe back in the water during a pre-season coaching stint at Crewe following an invitation from Alex boss Dario Gradi.

He told BBC Sport: "It was my first bit of work and I needed to do that for myself. It was brilliant and confirmed for me that this was what I want to do.

In almost 12 years at Christie Park, Harvey led Morecambe up into the Conference and to two top-three finishes.

But Forest Green provide a very different challenge.

Rovers, who are bottom of the table, are yet to win a game this season, with Harvey brought in to replace Gary Owers who was sacked after four straight defeats at the start of the campaign.

"Forest Green have had their problems over recent years and they are not in a good position at the moment," said Harvey.

"But I'm not frightened of the work. It'll be difficult, but football is difficult and I have to get in there and have a look at it.

"If I had been at Morecambe this year I'd have been expected to have won the league. At Forest Green, I have to save them."

Harvey is Forest Green's seventh manager in nine seasons, but the 48-year-old former Tranmere and Hereford midfielder is confident he will not be a short-term appointment.

"I seem to stay at places for a long time. They say there's no loyalty in football. That may or may not be right," added Harvey, who has also had a stint as Northern Ireland's part-time assistant-manager.

"I'm a loyal person and I'll be giving Forest Green everything I've got to try and turn it round and get them up the league."

Much, of course, will depend on results and Harvey has been handed a difficult task.

The playing budget has already been spent so Harvey faces the task of wringing improved results and performances from the existing squad of players and any loan recruits he can land.

With four clubs going down for the first time this season there is little margin for error and with Rovers having just moved into a new ground, survival is paramount.

"You can see the ambition of the chairman, the board of directors and the people behind the scenes," said Harvey.

"They have invested something like �4m on the ground and it's beautiful.

"They have done a marvellous job of that and the pitch is immaculate. Now I have to try and get a team to match those ambitions."