NEW boss David Flitcroft admitted he couldn’t turn down the advances of a club of Swindon Town’s stature but is not underestimating the size of the ‘rebuilding job’ at hand.

The former Barnsley and Bury manager agreed to a two-year deal at the County Ground yesterday and told the Adver he has rejected offers from other clubs since being relieved of his duties at Gigg Lane last November.

Having parted ways with head coach Luke Williams at the start of May, following Town’s demotion to League Two, chairman Lee Power made his first approach for Flitcroft two weeks ago and the 43-year-old did not rush into his decision.

But he believes he has had the right assurances to know he will be given every opportunity to succeed in his new post.

“We had a brief chat over the phone and then we chatted at length and it was really me asking the direct questions of what I needed answering and understanding the business and understanding what had gone wrong and what he felt the objectives were,” Flitcroft told the Adver.

“I could have maybe taken the job two weeks ago but I felt I needed to know the detail, because you don’t go into something without knowing what it is you’ve got to do and the size of the job and what that job meant.

“The budget and the finances were crucial, because there isn’t a squad in place. We’re incredibly light on numbers and we have got a big rebuilding job to do.

“It was really important that we knew those figures and I knew that I was responsible for recruitment, which was a fundamental to me.

“I think things had gone wrong with recruitment and how it was and again that is something that was discussed at length.”

Flitcroft, who has been working with Premier League side Leicester City on their recruitment for the past three months, said that involvement back in football gave him the impetus to return to the dugout with Swindon.

“I’ve enjoyed that and going there and doing that has made me realise that I really wanted to do this,” he added, having been talked out of working with the North American Football Confederation by Power in favour of heading to Wiltshire instead.

"I want to turn up on a Saturday and there to be a cause and there to be a competition and a challenge.

“The scouting - specifically just watching one player - you’re watching him play in a unit and it was fantastic because it opened me back up to making me understand that I wanted to get back into that Saturday environment.

“It’s been a bit of a chase both ways but certainly, I have turned down two or three jobs that weren’t right or didn’t feel right last season and when I have looked back, it was definitely the right thing now but this was a challenge I couldn’t turn down.

“To manage Swindon Town was the grab.

“I can work with someone like Lee (Power) because he tells it how it is, he says it how it is and that is what I want to do.

“I’m working for Swindon Town and I’m delighted to be doing that.”

MORE FROM FLITCROFT'S CHAT WITH CHIEF SPORTS WRITER MATTHEW EDWARDS THIS WEEK AT SWINDONADVERTISER.CO.UK/SPORT AND IN THE SWINDON ADVERTISER