Bristol Rovers moving fast to align club ambitions following relegation

National World - LocalTV

Daniel Wales looks at how Bristol Rovers have acted to improve the club since their relegation.

Transcript

00:00Now as Bristol Rovers face relegation to League Two,

00:04obviously, Darrell Clark has come back in since their relegation.

00:09He's trying to make sure he can add his promotion experience back to the club

00:14that he built such a great connection with a fair few years ago, 2014, 2016.

00:19Back on a three-year deal, he wants to make sure the project is there

00:23to bounce back immediately.

00:25There will be no waiting around to make sure that this project kicks off

00:29and they're going to want to make sure they do it.

00:32Obviously, a squad overhaul is probably likely a bit of a change in multiple positions,

00:37making sure they have that depth, making sure they can compete down below as well.

00:42The worst-case scenario would be back-to-back relegations

00:44and that's something that Darrell Clark won't even be thinking about,

00:48I'm sure, in terms of Bristol Rovers next season.

00:51This summer's a big one.

00:52They're not waiting around to suspend either.

00:55Ambitions for 2025-26, we're going to go to our Bristol correspondent,

00:59Dan, just your take on where they are, their ambitions for next season.

01:04Darrell Clark has great experience and they aren't waiting around

01:07to do some signings as well, which is really, really good.

01:10So, you know, how positive are things at the club at the moment?

01:14How much work needs to be sort of taking place for Bristol Rovers

01:18to have everything in line to have a good season next campaign?

01:23Dan, what are your thoughts?

01:24And how excited can the fans be?

01:29For Bristol Rovers, certainly, I think, after the fact that they were relegated,

01:33they needed a huge reset at the club and they've acted fast to sort this out as well.

01:38And I think that's really crucial, of course.

01:40The first step was getting in a new manager following the departure of Inigo Calderon.

01:45And Darrell Clark, a fan's favourite with experience of Bristol Rovers,

01:50brought in really quickly as well alongside, of course, their new director,

01:54of course, Ricky Martin.

01:56And them two have spoken together about the fact that they want to work

01:58in tandem with each other to bring about success at the club.

02:02Darrell Clark has took such a good talk so far in terms of how he wants the club to look,

02:09how he wants the players to behave and act,

02:10and ultimately the fact that he wants promotion with Bristol Rovers this season

02:14back from League 2 and back into League 1 to right the wrongs of the relegation

02:18that they've just suffered.

02:19And then they've brought in two new assistant head coaches in Johnstead and Rhys Carr.

02:25So they've acted fast in getting a backroom staff in for Darrell Clark,

02:30and I'm sure that both Darrell Clark and Ricky Martin have acted fast to get them in

02:34and to identify them, to scout them,

02:37and ultimately to put the project to the two of them,

02:40saying, like, look, come, work with us,

02:42and we'll be a success here at the Memorial Stadium.

02:45So lots to be excited about, I think, from a Bristol Rovers perspective.

02:49Of course, they've also brought in a new transfer,

02:51their first of the summer in Jack Sparks 2.

02:53So things are starting to ramp up at the club,

02:57and it just shows us how fast they're wanting to act

02:59to get this reset done as quickly as possible,

03:02because I think that's what the club needed.

03:05It couldn't just rest on its laurels,

03:07and it couldn't just wait about for something to happen.

03:10They had to be proactive, and they had to go and get it done as well,

03:13and that's what they've done by bringing in the new head coach,

03:15bringing in the new director, Ricky Martin,

03:17and then bringing in two assistant head coaches for Darrell Clark

03:20to work alongside at the club in Johnstead and Rhys Carr.

03:24So fast progress, certainly, at Bristol Rovers,

03:27and I think supporters will like that.

03:29Obviously, they like the fact that they've brought Darrell Clark back to the club,

03:31because he's someone who's had success with them before,

03:34and knows the place as well.

03:36And I think just the fact that he's having his influence now,

03:39supporters will start to recognise that and start to think,

03:41yes, he knows what he's doing,

03:43and he understands what is needed at the club after what happened,

03:46and so we can actually start to believe in them as a club once again.

03:50So I think you have to commend them for the swift and quick action they're taking,

03:55and I think that was what was needed at the club just as a whole,

03:58because they were in a bit of a mess at the end of last season

04:01when they couldn't buy a win in League One

04:03and ultimately faced relegation under an eagle called Deron.

04:06Obviously, the board, they had these ambitions of pushing Bristol Rovers up through the table.

04:12That didn't happen in League One, and now they've gone down.

04:14It's very much a case of getting them back to there

04:16and then resuming those ambitions as well.

04:18Daryl Clark's pointed out himself that he wants Bristol Rovers to be a League One club

04:22and a top-end League One club,

04:24and perhaps even pushing towards the Championship one day

04:26where, of course, their city neighbours in Bristol City currently are as well.

04:30So lots going on at Bristol Rovers at the moment,

04:34lots to be perhaps excited about as well.

04:37It's just now a case of continuing this fast progress

04:39to make sure that they are competitive next season.

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