Bristol City name Derek McInnes as manager

Derek McInnes has been appointed as the new manager of Bristol City.

The 40-year-old Scot joins the club on a contract until the summer of 2014 from St Johnstone, who last week gave City permission to interview McInnes for the role.

The Saints will collect compensation reported to be in the region of £100,000 for their boss, who emerged ahead of former Barnsley chief Mark Robins in the final reckoning.

Robins was seriously considered for the position, and the Ashton Gate board were said to initially be divided on who they wanted in the hotseat. But McInnes was their pick, and he will take charge of his new club for the first time when City face Birmingham on Sunday.

The managerial position at the Robins became available after former boss Keith Millen was dismissed on October 3. City had won just once in their 10 league matches under his stewardship, and have still to win at home this season.

The Ashton Gate board have put their faith in McInnes to arrest that trend and he arrives at his first managerial job in England with a glowing reputation, bringing assistant Tony Docherty with him.

In a statement, City chairman Colin Sexstone said his new manager's achievements and energy made him stand out during the application process.

"We're delighted to welcome Derek and Tony to Bristol City FC," said Sexstone.

"Throughout this process we received applications from a host of very strong candidates but in the end Derek stood out above all others.

"Derek was the unanimous choice of the board of directors and majority shareholder. He's an impressive character who is very highly rated in the game and comes here on the back of a superb stint at St Johnstone.

"His passion, his great track record; he's a manager on the up with a real understanding of the game. Derek has the drive and energy that proved to us he was the right man to take the club forward, both in the short term and - even more importantly - in the medium to long term.

"I'm sure our supporters will give Derek their full backing, starting this Sunday for our home game with Birmingham City, as we begin a new era and strive to move up the Championship table and beyond."

Hugely respected north of the border, McInnes took over at St Johnstone in November 2007 after his predecessor Owen Coyle joined Burnley, and 18 months later led the Saints into the Scottish Premier League for the first time in eight seasons.

Since then the former Scotland international's name has been mentioned for several vacancies in England - including those at West Brom, where he enjoyed three years as a player, and Watford before his club granted City permission to talk to him last week.

McInnes will be formally unveiled as the Robins' new manager at a press conference on Thursday morning at Ashton Gate.

PA