He has been manager in his own right for all of two weeks but Stuart Kettlewell is wasting little time in remoulding Ross County.
The Kettlewell-Stevie Ferguson co-management team did what was asked of them in leading County back to the Premiership and keeping the club there but with Ferguson assuming a new role at Victoria Park all eyes are on Kettlewell.
He is the man in charge, the man picking the team, the man signing the players. Every decision now is his and his alone.
It can be daunting but you get the impression Kettlewell has been waiting for this moment. What’s more, he is determined to put his imprint on the team as quickly as possible.
Only Motherwell have been more active in the transfer market so far but the Staggies have moved quickly to address some key areas in need.
Kettlewell added three new faces to the squad last week and it is clear he is trying to improve some areas in glaring need of an overhaul.
County shipped 60 goals in 30 league games last season. It’s a dire statistic no matter how you look at it and one which simply must improve if the club has any designs on staying away from the relegation zone in the new campaign.
The clean sheets were few and far between and as a result the confidence in the backline dwindled as the season progressed to leave the Staggies vulnerable, especially against the teams in the top half.
Had they not made a strong start to the season it could easily have been County and not Hearts facing the prospect of playing in the Championship next season.
Defensive reinforcements have unquestionably been Kettlewell’s top priority and he’s been quick to do something about it with the arrival of former Liverpool defender Connor Randall and Alex Iacovitti bringing some much needed freshness to a setup which had become stale.
The departure of Marcus Fraser and Richard Foster has given Kettlewell the scope to add to his defence and the arrival of 24-year-old Randall, who has experience of the top flight of Scottish football from his season on loan at Hearts in the 2017-18 campaign is a solid start.
Former Scotland youth international Iacovitti is even younger at 22. A product of the youth set-up at Nottingham Forest, he spent last season with Oldham Athletic and no doubt will be coming to Dingwall with a point to prove as he prepares to play Scottish club football for the first time.
Don Cowie’s retirement from playing to take on a new role as first-team coach also left the midfield in need of reinforcement and the loan signing of Rangers midfielder Stephen Kelly is an intriguing one.
A box-to-box player, Kettlewell will be looking to the 20-year-old, who impressed in the Championship last season with Ayr United, to bring some energy to the Staggies midfield.
It’s early days but it’s an interesting opening gambit from the County manager.
