NEW Plymouth Argyle chairman Sir Roy Gardner is a newcomer to the Pilgrims, but he is by no means a stranger to positions of power within professional football. He is very glad to be involved in the game once more.

The former Manchester United plc chairman replaced Paul Stapleton, who becomes deputy chairman, yesterday. When he addressed the media at Home Park for the first time, he said: "Anyone who knows me, or knows of me, will know my passion for football.

"Nobody should be surprised when I say that I've been looking for a little while to get back into the game. I left Manchester United back in 2005, so it has been four years now. This has proved to be the opportunity that I have been looking for."

Gardner is well aware of the potential possessed by the Pilgrims. He has signed up to a manifesto which is aimed at taking the team into the top flight of English football. "It is an attractive opportunity," he added. "There is the prospect of helping to make Plymouth Argyle a Premier League team in, hopefully, the not too distant future. There is also an opportunity to really develop the brand, which I believe has great potential."

Gardner was tempted to become involved in Argyle by an old friend and former colleague, Keith Todd, who also joined the Home Park board yesterday. "This gives me the opportunity to work again with a close friend and business colleague. Keith is a life-long Plymouth fan, and I'm looking forward to that. We worked together successfully for a number of years."

Argyle's new chairman was also quick to pay tribute to his predecessor. He said: "I'd like to thank Paul Stapleton, who has provided great leadership over the past decade and has delivered what I believe is unprecedented success. He created a great platform for the future on which we can now build, and I'm really delighted he is going to stay on as deputy chairman and continue his involvement with the club."

The chairman did not spend too much time looking back at past events. The agenda for him and his board is forward progress, a new five-year plan for the club to follow – and making the most of new links with footballing partners on far sides of the world.

"Now it's all about getting down to work," Gardner said. "By Christmas, we will have prepared a very detailed five-year plan, and that will include the playing and managerial staff. It will encompass how we intend to increase the playing and the staff budgets, and we also want to develop a strong youth academy. We have already talked about developing links with Japan and North America."

Gardner is convinced that the Pilgrims can have an identity that is recognised beyond the Westcountry and the rest of England. He declared: "We're going to develop the brand. I think it has local and global appeal, and that will drive up revenue and help the playing budget.

"Success on the field is hugely important to our future plans, but the club's footballing and commercial interests are very closely inter-linked."

The board's plan of action, which is in effect a preview of the five-year plan, is wide-ranging. Gardner added: "We want to reach out to the local community, and make match-day at Home Park an essential part of the calendar. We also intend to have discussions with Plymouth City Council, to see if we can develop Home Park as a centre of sporting excellence."

Argyle intend to be at the forefront of new developments in internet and mobile telephone technology which are applicable to viewing and following professional football. The chairman disclosed: "We want to use technology to widen our communications with the fanbase, both locally and globally. We want to talk to local industry and commerce, and see how we can work on sponsorship, events, hospitality and conferences."

Gardner is also taking on a project which Stapleton's board was unable to finish – the redevelopment of Home Park. That will not eclipse the improvement of the club's playing staff, however. He said: "If we want to be a Premier League club, we certainly need to do something about this ground. That is an integral part of our forward planning, but the players will come first."

A change of manager is not part of the board's plans, despite last season's struggle to survive in the Coca-Cola Championship. Gardner added: "Our first priority is to stabilise what we have, and lay the foundations for the future. That's why we're backing our current manager, Paul Sturrock. Like Paul Stapleton, he has delivered success to this club."

Unsurprisingly, Gardner is not ready to divulge the size of the budget Sturrock will be given to work with. "It's far too early yet," he said. "We need to have some discussions about the current squad, its numbers, its content, and we'll move forward from there. It's our intention to increase the playing budget, more so as we increase the commercial revenues."

Gardner, who followed Brentford in his younger days, pledged to travel from his home in Hertfordshire to serve and to support the Pilgrims as often as he can. He promised: "I'll spend as much time as possible down here. It's fair to say I'm a busy man, but football is my passion. I will find the time."