Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has urged Collingwood fans to "rally behind" his newly-appointed successor Mark Korda.

Collingwood announced on Wednesday that Korda would take over the reigns at the club after holding down the interim role alongside Peter Murphy following McGuire's resignation in February.

Korda has been a key member of the Magpies' board since being appointed in 2007 and will now become the 13th president in the club's history.

โ€œCollingwood has long held a place in my life and I take on this role with the strong belief that we have in our possession a wonderful legacy, a strength and spirit with which we must seek to do and be better. We have challenges but great people and passion to meet them,โ€ Korda said, per the club's website.

โ€œCollingwood has been made by many and it will take many to drive it forward. I thank Peter Murphy for his support, particularly over recent months, and his determination to see Collingwood continue to flourish. We have worked closely and talked daily over the past months and will continue to do so. I welcome Neil to the board.

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โ€œI also thank and pay tribute to Eddie for a contribution that may be the equal of any in the clubโ€™s 129 year history. His time was a transformational one that we must honour by creating a new age of prosperity and growth for Collingwood.

โ€œThere is a collaborative commitment from the board to serve our club andย create real progress that will live on through those who follow.โ€

Korda is understood to have edged out a late running by the fan-favoured Jeff Browne, who holds a close relationship with McGuire.

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When speaking onย Footy Classifiedย on Wednesday night in reaction to Korda's appointment, McGuire revealed he held some reservations in the build up to Collingwood's decision.

โ€œOne of the things that Iโ€™ve really been concerned about in the last couple of months is that some ghosts at Collingwood have re-appeared, who have been have been long-term people who have split the club,โ€ he said.

โ€œI was really, really worried and thatโ€™s why Iโ€™ve been very quiet. I donโ€™t want to be running a campaign for anybody. I was absolutely worried that we were going to go back to the bad old days.

โ€œTonight, Mark Korda is the president, rally behind him, get the board right, and go forward.โ€

McGuire's tenure at the Holden Centre was brought to a premature ending after announcing his resignation nine months prior to his initial due date to step aside from his duties.

The 56-year-old opened up on his original plans to aid a successor throughout the 2021 season before officially ending his time with the club.

โ€œI was going to use this year to (groom a successor),โ€ he said.

โ€œThere were people that I had lined up that I would have liked to have brought on at various stages and some of them arenโ€™t available because theyโ€™ve got work commitments.โ€