New chairman Nick Higgs would like to see fans turn out in their droves for the start of the 2008/09 season tomorrow.

Nick, who took over from the reigns from Ron Craig on Tuesday, has great hopes for the new campaign and wants to kick things off with a packed stadium for the Carlisle United clash.

He told bristolrovers.co.uk that promotion to the Championship will be one of his priorities as chairman.

"Over the last season Lennie and Trolls appraised the squad that won us promotion and we feel that we have now filled in any gaps," said Nick, "The board have invested in the squad over the close season, and we have increased our playing budget.

"We thought we were close on signing a player and bringing another in on loan this week, but unfortunately negotiations have broken down. But there is still scope to bring in new faces and we will continue to work on these deals and we hope to bring someone in before the transfer window closes."

Money has also been spent getting the pitch ready for the new season, with Lennie Lawrence commenting earlier this week that the pitch is currently better than he has ever seen it.

The surface has been dramatically revamped; with new drains being installed and work being done to flatten and improve the grass.

Nick said: "We have spent a lot of money on the pitch to try and avoid the problems we experienced last year. New drains have been installed to reduce surface water, and the ground staff have worked tirelessly to get things ready. This bodes well for the fans, as it should enable us to play some attractive football at home this season."

Finally, Nick would like to see the Memorial Stadium packed to the rafters tomorrow to welcome in the new season.

"Fans should come along tomorrow, as we have an exciting young squad who are ready and raring to go," he said.

"I am looking forward to some excellent football, and I think our fans should be too. Duffy and Hughes both trained yesterday, and will be in the squad to face Carlisle, so it will be a great opportunity for fans to come along and welcome the new boys.

"We have a great bunch of fans, and with your support we feel that we can have a very successful season. We appreciate that things are difficult for everybody at the moment, with the credit crunch in full force, but this club is nothing without it's supporters and we would ask the fans to get behind the team as much as possible."