Fort Myers, Fla. ? Grady Little knows enough about the turbulent history of the Red Sox to admit his warm welcome won’t last if he doesn’t win.

“That was touching,” he said Monday, one hour after players applauded at the meeting where he was introduced as their new manager. “We’ll see what kind of reception I get when I leave in October.”

If it’s anything like Boston’s last 83 seasons all completed without a championship it will be more subdued. But this season is unlikely to end with the turmoil that swept the clubhouse late last season.

Little, bench coach in Boston from 1997 to 1999 and at Cleveland since then, was hired Monday as the team’s third manager in a week and fourth in seven months.

Yet his appointment is another major move in stabilizing the franchise.

The makeover began Feb. 27 when John Henry and his partners bought the team. The next day, they fired general manager Dan Duquette, whose aloof style alienated players. Five days later, they dumped manager Joe Kerrigan, who took over last Aug. 16 when Duquette fired Jimy Williams.