General manager Phil Pinyon had just sensationally resigned, or as one councillor put it, been forced to “walk the plank”.

The Douglas Aerospace loan debacle had done serious damage to council’s brand and the fallout was savage.

Riven by infighting and factional skirmishes, the councillor group was at risk of imploding. The operational side of council was suffering a crisis of confidence.

The body responsible for the state’s largest inland city desperately needed a strong captain.

Enter Alan Eldridge.

On face value, the softly spoken Mr Eldridge had the right CV for the job.

Fiscally responsible – tick. Mr Eldridge was a practising accountant who specialised in forensically auditing under-performing businesses.

Local knowledge – tick. Mr Eldridge grew up on the banks of the Murrumbidgee, raised a family here and ran successful businesses here.

Strong leadership – tick. Mr Eldridge had already established relationships with a number of key councillors and was renowned as a ferocious boardroom negotiator.

Within weeks of taking the interim general manager job, Mr Eldridge had flagged his intention to overhaul the planning department and put a number of other directorates on notice.

His corporate sensibility and no-nonsense style might have made some in council jittery about job security but so far, Mr Eldridge has done a commendable job. Mr Eldridge now has four years to prove to this community he is worth the rumoured $350,000-plus a year of our money.

Culture change in the public sector is not easy and Mr Eldridge takes the helm at a critical time for the city.

Keeping the councillor group united behind his vision in a tumultuous local election year and getting major infrastructure projects across the line are just two of his challenges. He would be under no illusions as to the enormity of the task ahead.

In his first official day as full-time GM, Mr Eldridge was in Macquarie Street trying to thrash out a deal with the Premier’s department over freight hub funding.

Mr Eldridge is no longer “acting general manager”. We expect him to deliver and will accept no less.