PAUL Mariner is hoping fans will return to Home Park for his inaugural home game in charge of first-team duties.

Attendances have been disappointing this season but Mariner remains hopeful that the Green Army will be in full voice for Saturday's clash with Coventry City.

Mariner opened with a defeat at Preston last weekend but he is already seeing signs of improved belief in the players.

"I am extremely excited and it was ironic last week that Preston is only ten miles away from where I was born," he said.

"There have been a lot of ironies since I came back but coming to Home Park for my first game in charge, I want all the tings everybody else wants.

"I want the team to play well. I am obviously very nervous. I want the fans to get behind us and I have a great feeling about it.

"I will have butterflies on Saturday - that's a certainty. It is special that this club that gave me the chance in professional football, and I was 20 when they gave me the chance, so I thought it had passed me by.

"This club has given me another opportunity in management, so it's an incredible feeling for me. I am very, very proud.

"We want to get fans back into this club. We are under no illusions that we have a lot of work to do and we're not in a great position, but we feel good about it.

"We want to build and build and build. We need to know what we're doing. Everybody in the club needs to know their roles and what their jobs are.

"I am a very optimistic person and very serious about what I do."