Steve Lansdown has been honoured for his outstanding service to Bristol City - and has spoken again of his ambitions for the football club.

City's long-serving chairman was given a special award by club president Marina Dolman at Thursday's player-of-the-year ceremony.

Making her presentation, Mrs Dolman said: "Every so often it is my prerogative as president to make my own special award to someone I feel has made an outstanding service to Bristol CIty.

"I can think of no more fitting person than Steve and this award is in recognition of his hard work and effort and everything he puts into this football club."

Steve - who became chairman in 2002 after a four-year spell on the board - has overseen promotion and cup success on the pitch, the development of a new £1 million training ground and is currently the driving force behind plans to build a new stadium by 2012.

He said afterwards he was touched to have been given the honour and reiterated his ambition to take the club to the highest possible level.

He said: "It was very touching and nice of Marina to make the award. I don't think I deserve it but it is nice to be appreciated in that way and I hope I can justify it."

"I think it was a very enjoyable and well-organised night and shows that we are becoming a bigger and better club on, and off, the pitch."

Steve added: "Everything is being put in place to take this club to the highest possible level.

"We've reached the Championship and stayed there and have given a really good account of ourselves over the past two seasons. Now we want to push on and improve next year.

"It will be a difficult task and I'm not going to stand here and say we will definitely get to the Premier League but we will give a really good shot at doing it.

"We'll continue to improve the training ground, we'll help to get the new stadium plans on track and hopefully we will have a brand, spanking new stadium ready should achieve our ambitions of reaching the Premier League."