ROBERT Croft wants a Glamorgan side that makes Wales proud – but the new boss has stressed that local talent will have to earn its spot.

The Glamorgan great was paraded in front of the media at a sunny SSE Swalec Stadium yesterday, beaming with pride at being given the reins at a county where he took over 1,000 first-class wickets and passed 10,000 first-class runs.

Croft, one of the most famous faces in Welsh cricket, will give Glamorgan a boost in profile but he spoke of his lofty desires for the club with 'ambition' a word he used time and time again.

He takes over as head coach from Toby Radford in the hotseat after previously acting as his assistant and arrived back in Cardiff fresh from a spell helping the England one-day spinners in South Africa.

Now he is fully focussed on spearheading the preparations for Glamorgan's season with a County Championship promotion charge and one-day success on his wish list.

"I want to see a fiercely competitive on the field and good people off it," said the 45-year-old, who played 21 Tests and 50 ODIs for England.

"Most coaches are judged by wins and losses. We will be challenging ourselves to be competitive in every competition and not going there to make up the numbers.

"When we talk about the county championship we got close last year and I would like to try and build on the success of that after we tailed away a bit at the end.

"In the T20 we have box office players and we would like to get through into the knockout stages. If we can get close to that and promotion that would be great."

Croft was quick to mention that the academy is now "stable" and he is now charged with mixing the desire to see local lads out in the middle with the need for a winning side. Last week Glamorgan announced the signing of Dutch seamer Timm van der Gugten while all-rounder Craig Meschede's loan has been turned into a permanent deal.

"The experience is there now and the young Welsh players are not novices anymore," he said, referencing David Lloyd and Andrew Salter.

"In past years there has been a group of players who have been in the infancy of their careers and the expectation level might be lower but there is an expectation level there now and the boys are aware of that."

"I played in a team where lots of young Welsh players played and they weren't ready and potentially we lost a generation," he continued.

"What we are mindful of is if you are a Welsh player then great, but you have to be a very good Welsh player. When you do break into the side there are quality players who can help them.

"We don't want any quick fixes, we want quality. The mission statement is to make Wales proud and we are looking to do that."

Croft was key component in successful Glamorgan sides, winning the Sunday League title in 1993, the County Championship in 1997 and National League in 2002 and 2004.

Times have been tougher of late but the former spinner will encourage ambition.

"Where is the end of your rainbow? That is something the players will be challenged for," he said.

"Whatever time we are here representing this club we want to leave a positive mark and look back on our time with smiles on our faces and believe we did everything we could to get things better.

"We have ambition but I am also mindful if how hard success is. Even if you have a good side you can't just turn up and expect things to happen but it's one challenge I am looking forward to."