Analysing Darrell Clarke’s Bristol Rovers return

Local TV Sport

Daniel Wales looks at the motivation at bringing Darrell Clarke back to the Memorial Stadium.

Transcript

00:00Now, as Bristol Rovers look toward an exciting new era under Darrell Clarke

00:05in returning for his second spell at the club as they were relegated to League 2,

00:10he has one ambition in mind and that's simply get them back into League 1

00:14at the first time of asking.

00:16Now, the challenge is obviously fairly steep.

00:18It's got its turns, it's got its challenges.

00:21Bristol Rovers have had a very turbulent last few years

00:24with different managers not quite getting things right as well.

00:27Inigo Calderon's side were in and out of form

00:30and ultimately fell incredibly short in League 1 this season.

00:34And, you know, in terms of the future, Darrell Clarke's come in.

00:38He looks like an assured boss.

00:40He's got that investment with the fans.

00:42He's got the sustainability with the club.

00:44He obviously has come in with an idea, with a plan to get the reinforcement

00:48with the team that are going to face a real test.

00:51We know this, but they're going to want to really push on

00:54and try and become that real Bristol Rovers side again

00:58that are a force to be reckoned with, especially on home soil.

01:01They just weren't really good enough throughout the entire season.

01:04Dan, our Bristol Rovers correspondent.

01:07Dan, just your thoughts on Darrell Clarke's appointment.

01:10You know, what are the goals for him involved in the club?

01:13He's obviously coming in with the ambitions to get them back.

01:15He has a good track record of getting EFL promotions as well.

01:19So, Dan, what are your thoughts on Darrell Clarke?

01:21Where can he take Rovers?

01:22How satisfied are the fans with this appointment as well?

01:26Because surely it can breed a bit of positivity in terms of their future.

01:30Well, Charles, it's certainly a crowd-pleasing move

01:33bringing Darrell Clarke back into the club.

01:35And judging by the press conferences and the interviews he's held so far,

01:39he certainly seems eager enough to win and to get Bristol Rovers promoted

01:42and back to where, as he puts it, back to where they belong,

01:46at least in League One and perhaps even higher after that as well.

01:50Of course, that's all in the future.

01:51The here and now is making sure they're ready for the League Two season.

01:55But he certainly has the drive and ambition just listening to him.

02:01Because, of course, I think he has that good rapport with the supporters.

02:04He knows what they want and what they demand and what they're after.

02:07And obviously, having been successful at Bristol Rovers before,

02:11he knows how good it can be and how good it can feel

02:13to get things right at the Memorial Stadium.

02:16The worry is, though, are things ever quite the same the second time round?

02:20Because is it just a bit of nostalgia creating that feel-good factor?

02:23And when it actually comes to playing the football on the pitch,

02:26will things actually feel the same and be the same as they were the first time round?

02:30Of course, that's just me speculating.

02:32But it could be the case where things don't perhaps work out how they once were

02:37and then it leaves a really sour taste and think, well, was he actually the right person all along?

02:41And is it just to please the crowd after what was a pretty poor answer last season,

02:45which saw Bristol Rovers get relegated?

02:48Of course, the opposite could work.

02:50And the fact that he does have such an affinity with his supporters

02:54and the fact that he knows the players so well,

02:56that could mean that he hits the ground running straight away.

02:58And they do get back up, back to League One at the first attempt.

03:02Because, of course, if you can really harness the crowd's happiness at the moment

03:07and the satisfaction of him being back, then that could only be a good thing.

03:13So I think the point to be made is that it could really go one of two ways,

03:16either really, really well or really, really quite badly.

03:21And that is potentially a big risk for the board at Bristol Rose.

03:25But certainly I think they knew what they were doing by bringing him in

03:27because, of course, they probably thought,

03:29well, it's the one to quickly please the supporters

03:32following a really disappointing end to last season under Inigo Calderon.

03:36But it has to work and it has to work quickly

03:39because you don't want them to be languishing too long down in League Two

03:45after a promising start to their life in League One,

03:49after their promotion a couple of years prior to where we are now.

03:52Things looked all right, they survived.

03:54And then, of course, they've gone down subsequently.

03:56But it has to be a move that works very, very quickly

04:01because we know how fickle and impatient modern football can be.

04:06So I think for Daryl Clark, what he needs to do and what he needs to get right

04:09is obviously it's easy to say the recruitment, but that is such a key thing

04:13because he's going to need players who can compete at this level in English football

04:16but also will be good enough to make that step up

04:19if they are to go up as he is foreseeing.

04:22So they need to be buying players who are, if anything, too good perhaps for League Two

04:30because, yes, they'll still be good at this level

04:32but then they'll also be able to compete if and when they are promoted once again.

04:36So an interesting summer to come and certainly an interesting season to come

04:39for Bristol Rovers, but one that we'll all be watching with great interest and anticipation.

04:44We'll see you next time.

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