McInnes sad to be leaving

Published: 20 Oct 2011 - 18:39:00

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Derek McInnes has backed St Johnstone to continue improving after he left the club to take over at Bristol City. McInnes was unveiled at Ashton Gate on Thursday morning after impressing the Championship club's board in their recruitment process Having taken assistant Tony Docherty with him, Saints have put captain Jody Morris and under-19 coach Alec Cleland in temporary charge for Saturday's Tayside derby against Dundee United at Tannadice. McInnes leaves with Saints fifth in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and looking good for a top-six challenge, with summer signings Cillian Sheridan and Francisco Sandaza impressing up front. The Perth side were in the bottom half of the First Division when McInnes took over from Owen Coyle four years ago, but he guided them to promotion in his first full season and comfortably kept them in the top flight for two years. McInnes told the club's official website: "I see myself as having had three distinct groups of players in my time at the club and all have been fantastic. The current group have been absolutely first class. "We are sad to be leaving, but myself and Tony at least have the satisfaction of leaving the club on a healthy footing. "But that's not just down to us - it's down to the staff behind the scenes at the club, the board of directors, the supporters and especially the players. "All of those people have been brilliant to work with. "I'm confident that the club will go from strength to strength and nobody will be more delighted than me if that is the case." McInnes turned down the opportunity to join Brentford earlier this year, but he could not say no to the Robins. He said: "Obviously it's a real opportunity for me to develop as a manager and professionally it is the right thing to do but that doesn't mean it has been an easy decision. "When you have been at a club as long as I was at Saints, you create a bond with people and those bonds are not easy to break. "I'll always be indebted to Saints and to (chairman) Geoff Brown and (former managing director) Stewart Duff in particular, who guided me through the transition from player to manager at the club and made it easier than it might otherwise have been."