Scottish Labour has a “long road back” to where it needs to be under new leader Michael Marra, a former first minister has said.

Mr Marra beat rival Joe Fagan in the leadership race on Saturday, taking the reins of a party which has shed MSPs at every election since the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, sinking to just 17 in May.

As he is set to meet journalists in Dundee on Monday, Mr Marra sought to put education at the heart of his leadership.

He has a big challenge ahead of him but he is, I hope, the right person in the right place at the right time

Jack McConnell

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Lord Jack McConnell – who was first minister and Scottish Labour leader between 2001 and 2007 – said: “I think there’s a long road back to where Scotland needs the Scottish Labour Party to be.”

He added: “He has a big challenge ahead of him but he is, I hope, the right person in the right place at the right time.”

Lord McConnell said Mr Marra has three tasks as he takes over the job: uniting the party, building a “more positive” offering to the country ahead of the next Holyrood election and making clear what he would do if he became first minister.

New Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has pledged to “start taking action now” to help his party win back the support of voters. He spoke about the need to “reconnect with the country” if Labour is to again win power at Holyrood.

There is a “monumental challenge”, Lord McConnell said, in convincing people to vote Labour rather than the SNP.

“It’s a really difficult job at a really difficult time and he needs to be very clear in his opposition to the way that Scotland is being treated by the SNP, Scottish Government and their MSPs,” he said.

“But he also needs to offer a very direct alternative.”