Bristol Rovers acting fast to ensure competitiveness in League Two

National World - LocalTV

Daniel Wales looks at the steps Bristol Rovers are taking to make sure their League Two campaign is a successful one.

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00:00Now, in terms of Bristol Rovers, obviously relegated from League One

00:05after finishing 22nd in the table, obviously a very, very tough division

00:10with the likes of Birmingham City, Wrexham going in and investing heavily as well.

00:14But, you know, they fell short massively across the entire campaign.

00:18So much inconsistency, not many spells of winning games either.

00:22And, you know, Calderon, obviously, who took over mid-season,

00:26couldn't prevent the drop. His job came to an end.

00:29And Daryl Clark comes in. I mean, that sort of spells a bit of positivity.

00:32He was the architect of back-to-back promotions.

00:35And he's been reappointed on a three-year deal.

00:38He's got so much past success.

00:40And, you know, this long-term contract offers a bit of stability and vision,

00:44you know, to drive that rebuild.

00:47So, yeah, it's a massive, massive opportunity for Bristol Rovers

00:51and Daryl Clark to approach the challenge.

00:53But, you know, fans are going to have some, you know,

00:56favourable memories of his time before, you know, 10 or so years ago.

01:01But he needs to still do the business in lead two

01:04and get them right back up to lead one the first time of asking.

01:07So, Dan, our Bristol correspondent.

01:10Dan, look at Rovers.

01:11Look at their outlook in terms of, you know, where they're going to be,

01:15their infrastructure, their long-term plans.

01:17Because a lot's going on in Bristol at the moment with managerial changes, etc.

01:22And Rovers are going to want to be the team that are talked about

01:25in a positive way next campaign.

01:28Yes, Charles, there certainly is a lot going on at Bristol Rovers

01:32and at the quarters at the moment, as well as, of course, the Memorial Stadium.

01:36Obviously, Daryl Clark has come in as the new head coach.

01:39We've reported that extensively.

01:41We've also looked at the arrivals of John Stead and Rhys Carr

01:45as his two assistant head coaches.

01:47And, of course, you've got Ricky Martin as well as the director of football.

01:50So, a lot going on in terms of the hierarchy at the club.

01:52But now we're starting to see transfers as well.

01:54And, of course, when Ricky Martin and Daryl Clark were interviewed

01:58when they first both came in,

01:59they mentioned a need for lots to be changed and reset at the club

02:05following the disappointment of last season

02:08and, of course, the relegation from League 1 to League 2.

02:10And they're starting to do that really quite quickly.

02:12We're having a host of names starting to come into the club now,

02:15which, of course, we've been reporting on here.

02:18But it was necessary for Bristol Rovers that they acted quick

02:21and they acted fast because the club was in a bit of a state

02:25and it needed some tough love but also some quick changes as well

02:29to make sure that they were heading in the right direction

02:31as quickly as possible and that they weren't resting on their laurels.

02:35Because, of course, if they got into the new season without too much change,

02:38as much as you've got a new manager and new coaches,

02:41you often think, is that rot still there?

02:43But the fact that they're changing things up as quickly as possible,

02:45that's probably the best way to seed it out a bit.

02:48So, obviously, we can't say anything until really the ball gets rolling

02:53in the middle of August.

02:54But, for the most part, things are looking good off the field at the moment,

02:58bringing in a lot of new faces to the club, which is what you want.

03:02And they're bringing them in early as well.

03:04And I think that's crucial because you've got pre-season starting very soon now

03:08at the quarters.

03:09So, you want players to be brought in as quickly as possible

03:12so they've got time to bed into the squad

03:15and bed into Daryl Clark's way of coaching

03:17as well as, obviously, the coaching philosophies of Reece Carr

03:20and John Stead as well.

03:21Because if you don't do that, then all of a sudden you're playing catch-up.

03:25And by the time the season starts, you think the players actually know their roles

03:28and they know what they're doing, do they understand what they want

03:30or what is required of them from the coaches above.

03:35So, you've got to get things done relatively soon

03:37because otherwise things start to not work and unravel.

03:41Yes, you can bring players in later on in the window,

03:43but you want that call sorted as early as possible,

03:46especially after a relegation,

03:48to make sure that they're going in the right direction as a club.

03:50And, obviously, you've got to give credit to the ownership as well

03:53because despite what happened last season

03:55and even though, obviously, they wanted Bristol Rovers to be this club

03:58who's going towards the top of League 1,

04:00it didn't happen.

04:01They got relegated, but now they're trying their best to rectify things.

04:05Yes, they're in League 2 and it will take at least a season

04:07to get back to League 1,

04:09but they're going about things the right way.

04:12So, you've got to give them credit in that regard, obviously.

04:17But, obviously, it's going to be a long season to come for Bristol Rovers,

04:20but they're going about things the right way this summer

04:22to make sure that it is, yes, a long season,

04:26but an enjoyable one as well.

04:28You don't want it to be going through it

04:29and it's getting tough and you're starting to lose games

04:32and get bogged down because then, of course, the crowd turns

04:34and things can become really difficult all of a sudden.

04:37So, lots to be excited about at the Memorial Stadium on the court.

04:40There's lots of new players coming in

04:41and, overall, the direction of the club is just getting better.

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