Newly installed Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce is adamant his team has all the ingredients to be successful in the NFL.

Addressing the media for the first time since being appointed to the role, Pierce, who has Bermudian parentage, declared: “We have the team. We have the people in this building, we have the players in this building to win. We've just got to go do it.

“It's a new day, it's a new chapter, it's a new era, it's a new mindset. What is that mindset? It's that of the Raider pride, the commitment to excellence, and making sure our alumni, our fanbase and Raider Nation are proud of what they see on the field.”

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The Raiders, who are committed to undergo a comprehensive search for a head coach once the season is complete, are third in the four-team AFC West Division with a 3-5 record and have suffered losses in their previous two outings against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.

“We're tired of losing. It's not a good feeling,” Pierce added.

“We’re a production-based business. We're about competition, being competitive and playing with an edge and a swag and a certain confidence that when we walk out that damn tunnel, that everybody watching TV can see it and the product on the field is something we're proud of.”

The former Washington Redskins and New York Giants linebacker was appointed to the role for the rest of the season following the firing of Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler shortly after the NFL trade deadline expired on Tuesday.

“It's been a whirlwind, I'll be honest,” Pierce said. “You're not prepared for this.”

As fate would have it, Pierce will make his debut as a head coach in the NFL against former team New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.

“How about that? Couldn't write it up," he added.

“However, it's not Antonio Pierce versus the New York Giants. It's the Las Vegas Raiders versus the Giants, coming into our house.

“It's a much needed win for us. We've had two ugly losses. It's time to change that. We are in the second half of the season.

“It doesn't matter who Antonio Pierce plays. It's about the Las Vegas Raiders and those players understand that. It's about them, not me.”

Pierce is no stranger to his players having served as linebackers coach with the Raiders prior to being appointed interim head coach.

“I've been around these guys for two years now as a linebackers coach,“ he said. “I made my presence known in the linebacker room, defensive line room, quarterback room and the running back room.

“I'm a former player; I touch football players. I can relate to them. I've done the same things they've done. I've walked the same paths they walked. I felt the same pain they felt.

"So, there's nothing or any emotional ride or roller coaster they've gone through this year or the two years I've been with them, that I haven't felt. My personality will come out and reflect on this team. Hopefully we see that on Sunday."

Pierce has made a seamless transition to the Raiders whom he supported growing up in Compton, California.

“I was born a Raider," he stressed. "I was born with the Raiders rolling into the Coliseum in LA.

“I was rolling with NWA, talking 'Straight Outta Compton,' rocking Raiders hats. So when the opportunity came to work with Josh McDaniels, and Patrick Graham and Dave Ziegler – I jumped on it. That's what set me up for this. I was born this way.”

Moving forward, Pierce, who won the Super Bowl with the Giants in 2008, has pinned his hopes for success on rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell over the experienced Jimmy Garoppolo.

“We just feel like he gives us the best chance," Pierce said of the 25-year-old O’Connell, who has gone 34 of 52 for 313 yards with two touchdowns and as many interceptions in two appearances for the Raiders, including one start.