00:00Now, after Bristol Rovers' relegation to League Two, they're obviously staring down the pan and, you know, they're looking ahead into this new season and a future, immediate future, that things can't really get much worse than last season.
00:13They were pretty abysmal throughout the League One campaign. Now, obviously, Daryl Clark comes back into the fold and that's massive news for Rovers fans.
00:21They have a great connection with the manager. They obviously don't want to go too far off nostalgia and hopefully Daryl Clark can continue.
00:30Now, what's happened in the time since he was involved is he's, you know, he's achieved more promotion, the likes of Port Vale as well, which is an incredible story there.
00:41Daryl Clark has come into a lot of clubs. He's got a lot of things right and he's left a very proud man, a very connected man to the fan base.
00:50And I think it's a lovely return for Bristol Rovers fans, but football is determined on results.
00:56So it is so important that Daryl Clark hits the ground running. I mean, the squad cohesion, he's got to get it right in terms of rotation, in terms of how he's going to change training.
01:07You know, there needs to be sort of kicks of the backside for this Bristol Rovers group.
01:13If you are relegated, things need to change. Long-term growth as well needs to become a clear sort of motivational tactic as well to get that positive going forward.
01:24So Dan, our Bristol correspondent, let's just go to Dan. Dan, what's your thoughts on Bristol Rovers' ambitions under Daryl Clark?
01:32Where do they need to look forward to? Is it as simple as, you know, promotion straight back to League One or, you know, a case of just improving, ensuring they're sustainable again?
01:42And then hopefully they can look towards a promotion push in the future.
01:47I think relegation came as quite a big shock to Bristol Rovers last season. Certainly they weren't wanting it at all.
01:53I mean, obviously no club wants relegation, Charles, but I think at one stage of the season they thought, you know,
01:58OK, yes, they'd sacked Matt Taylor, but they brought Calderon and Ego Calderon and results had seen a bit of an upturn and they'd done all right in some games and they were looking relatively safe.
02:06And so the downturn of Format K just showed a, well, it came as a real surprise to them, I think, to be honest.
02:12And so naturally the ambition of the club came into a bit of, came in for a bit of questioning and just the new ownership as well.
02:19So the fact that Daryl Clark's come out and been so assured of his aims and his hunger and desire to make sure Bristol Rovers are competing at the top end of League Two in the season to come
02:33and really tackling promotion as an objective is certainly encouraging in terms of the club's ambitions.
02:40The ownership need to just show this themselves by backing Clark in the transfer window and making sure he's got the adequate tools to get that job done.
02:51Otherwise, then once again, you know, their ambition will be put into the firing line because Bristol Rovers, as Clark has constantly pointed out,
03:00are a big enough club and shouldn't really be in League Two with some of the backing they've had in recent times and some of the ambition that they've had.
03:06So they need to get out of that division as quickly as possible.
03:10And, of course, that comes from good management, good staff, good players and, of course, a good board as well,
03:16all working together in tandem to create the best environment possible at the Memorial Stadium.
03:21Lots of work to be done over the summer. Clark has made clear that, you know, a bit of a reset is probably needed.
03:26But if that's the case, then the club need to help him with that and make sure that the right players are brought in
03:33and work with them well to make sure that Bristol Rovers aren't just languishing.
03:40Because if you get caught down in that division, you're going to be there for some time.
03:43And that's the worry. And that's when the ambition of the club would really, really come under threat.
03:48Because you think, well, if they're languishing and things aren't looking good, then if Clark gets sacked and then you think,
03:54well, what direction is this club going in?
03:57So lots to think about this summer for Bristol Rovers.
04:00But certainly the awareness by bringing in someone like Daryl Clark have set their ambitions straight
04:04by bringing in someone who they know can win at this club.
04:07And with the interview he did with Ricky Martin as well, he made clear that they're in this together
04:12to create the best possible outcome.
04:14So they've talked the talk over the summer so far.
04:17They now need to put some of that into action as well by bringing in good players
04:21and also then enacting that on the pitch when the season does start in August.
04:26Bit of time to go until that, though.
04:28So they need to make sure that the pre-season they have is as good as possible.
04:32They hit the ground running as a club.
04:34And Daryl Clark was now John Stead as his assistant manager.
