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Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton says he's been impressed with the way new manager Gary O'Neil has handled himself during the first weeks in the job.
The Blues chief received the bombshell news in June that three-times promotion winning boss Kieran McKenna wanted to quit to take a break from the game.
A 'robust' recruitment process followed, with O'Neil, a man who previously kept both Bournemouth and Wolves in the Premier League, subsequently bought out of French club Strasbourg to lead Town back into the top flight.
Asked how he's found it working with a new manager, having worked so closely with McKenna over four-and-a-half years, Ashton laughs: "It still catches me at times. We did the first pre-season friendly at home and that was the first time I'd walked into the manager's office and it was Gary. I was like, ‘Oh, you don't normally sit there!’
"But I think his personality and the personality of his staff has really fitted the club well. The energy he's brought has been great.
Mark Ashton says new boss Gary O'Neil 'has a bite' (Image: Ross Halls)
"He knows what he wants to do. Whilst he's got a smile on his face and he's kind and considerate and respectful to people, he has a bite, and he's very assured on what he wants and why he wants to do it.
"As I said before, he had some great ups at Bournemouth, great ups in the first year at Wolves, then had a tough time at Wolves. He's then reborn a little bit of Strasbourg. I think because of those challenging times, we get the best version of him because I think he's learned from those.
"There's a couple of times where I've seen him deal with issues or circumstances and I think, ‘Okay, I like that.’ That will be his learning, when to push, when to pull, when to step off, when to deal with things.
"His communication is good. He's been good to work with. But the reality is we haven't kicked a ball in the Premier League yet."