Randy Horton made no attempt to conceal his delight at being handed the Education, Sport and Recreation brief. “I’m absolutely excited, pumped up,” gushed the ex-professional footballer and former headmaster, who has been handed a job which appears to have been tailored exactly to exploit his experience.

Two months ago, the scene at Government House was very different. Mr. Horton had been demoted from a job he adored at the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety to become Minister of Environment.

The contrast between his visibly upset demeanour then and his broadly grinning face yesterday could not have been more marked. Father-of-two Mr. Horton had taken a chance by publicly backing Dr. Brown while still serving in Alex Scott’s Cabinet — but his gamble paid off.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I think Dr. Brown is the leader that we need. The bottom line is work. We are not here to play. We want to improve life in Bermuda.”

Mr. Horton has held the sport portfolio before. He began his parliamentary career in 1998 and joined the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio in February 2001.

That November he became Minister of Community Affairs and Sport. In July 2003, he was one of 11 rebel PLP MPs who defected from Premier Jennifer Smith’s Cabinet. After Mr. Scott took the top job, Mr. Horton was promoted to the Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety post.

He said yesterday that although he had loved that position “there is nothing that has driven me more than education” and “if it hadn’t been for sports I wouldn’t be standing here right now”.

Mr. Horton said it was too early for him to say how he planned to improve the graduation rate at the Island’s two public schools. But he said his wife Linda, who stood beside him, would undoubtedly help him. “I have a wife who also trained in education. She’s always been very critical but in a very constructive way in order to help me.”

Mr. Horton said he looked forward to working with Education permanent secretary Rosemary Tyrrell, who served under him as a teacher when he was principal of Warwick Secondary School in the 1980s and early 1990s.