CLARKE THINKING OF BIG PICTURE
DARRELL CLARKE wants to build on a plan of sensible recruitment as his Bristol Rovers side look to continue their push for the League One play-offs.
Clarke has made four signings in this transfer window, the latest 21-year-old Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Burn.
Rovers were tenth, six points off the play-off places, heading into the weekend and have plans in place to build a new stadium and training centre.
“The majority of our supporters are very sensible people,” Clarke said. “They appreciate that, to be sustainable and competitive in the Championship, we also need to have the right infrastructure in place off the pitch.
“Building a football club is about more than simply what happens for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon. It costs money to put that infrastructure in place and that means we can’t spend loads and loads on players.
“People who think we can do that are not looking at the bigger picture. That is not building towards being a progressive Championship club. That is simply a short-term fix and a model that is unsustainable over the long term.
“If people think there is a magic wand to get us to where we want to be without a process of planning then they are living in cloud cuckoo land.”