Gloucester lock Rob Fidler has welcomed the arrival of new coach Nigel Melville at Kingsholm and said the west country club should immediately set their sights on champions-elect Leicester.

Melville will be unveiled as replacement to Phillipe Saint-Andre on Wednesday, less than a week after a six-year stint at Wasps ended with his resignation.

The former England skipper finds himself in the unusual situation of filling a vacancy at a club on a high, rather than scrapping away towards the foot of the table.

Saint-Andre returned to his native France last month claiming there had been too much interference from the Rugby Football Union, his anger chiefly surrounding the continued appearance of rugby league recruit Henry Paul in his first-team line-up.

Paul made a controversial England debut against France in Paris on Saturday after a largely inauspicious start to his full-time union career.

After being tried with little success in a number of positions, Paul publicly criticised Saint-Andre's coaching methods, claiming they were a 'step down' from what he had been used to at the Bradford Bulls.

Melville must solve that particular problem, then also hope that negotiations aimed at keeping England prop Phil Vickery at the club are successful.

Vickery is out of contract in the summer and has threatened to quit unless Gloucester increase their current offer.

In the meantime, Melville will take charge for Saturday's Premiership clash with Sale knowing Gloucester lie second in the table and have a Parker Pen semi-final match-up with the same opponents later this month.

There had been suggestions that his appointment would be delayed until Wasps had entertained Gloucester in a re-arranged league game next month.

However, those problems appear to have been ironed out and Kingsholm chairman Tom Walkinshaw informed the players of their new leader this afternoon.

"We have been like a ship without a rudder for a little bit," said Fidler. "As a player you always like to know what is happening. There has been a lot of speculation and it is nice to finally get it cleared up.

"If we were on a losing streak maybe things might be different, but all the players are in a pretty positive frame of mind and we are really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead."

As soon as Saint-Andre's decision to quit was made public, Melville hinted he would be interested in the job.

With former Ireland coach Warren Gatland already at Loftus Road, Wasps knew they had an ideal replacement, leaving Melville free to leave.

And, after spending over half a decade battling to create a niche in West London, the gritty Yorkshireman now faces the task of satisfying the demands of the die-hard fans who stand in The Shed.

"The owners must have felt we needed another kick-start to take things that bit further," said Fidler.

"We are doing quite well but we are still a couple of steps behind Leicester.

"As a club, Gloucester are looking to become regulars in the Heineken Cup.

"We have done quite well without winning anything, now we need to give the Shed some success."