Football Clarke fears Rovers are going backwards on and off pitch
DARRELL Clarke says he expects his budget to be cut under the current Bristol Rovers ownership.
Having attended a board meeting on Friday, Clarke took part in an explosive press conference after watching his team crash to a 4-0 defeat against Doncaster Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Although Clarke admitted he should be doing more as manager to lift Rovers out of their current predicament, he revealed that he was not confident that the club’s owners, Dwane Sports, would fulfil their promises of a new stadium and a new training ground.
He said: “I’m being honest now, they try and tell me different, but I can’t see the training ground or stadium happening any time I’m manager and, for me, I think it’s the other way. There’s going to be cuts. You have to deal with that.
“As a manager, you sit here and go ‘right, what do I do?’ I’ll do what I’ve always done when I’ve been at this football club, I’ll fight for the supporters.
“My efforts might not be good enough, but I’m going to be in there, pitching, fighting, scrapping for them.
“Until people say they’re going to do what they’re going to do and get it done, and build, the club will yo-yo from League One and League Two.
“Listen, I’m saying that as an underachieving manager. I have a mid-table budget in League One and I ain’t succeeded this year, I’m underachieving. In the last two years, I’ve had a bottom-six, bottom-eight budget and we’ve overachieved. This year I’m underachieving as a manager and I’ll take that.
“My signings haven’t been good enough, without a shadow of a doubt I ain’t shirking responsibility, but it still needs that backing, pushing, facilities to move forward – and we’re still in the same place.”
He added: “People think I have a problem with the board. I don’t have a problem with the board, I just tell them exactly how it is. I speak to you guys as I speak to them, no problem.
“I don’t go and shirk away in the boardroom. I tell them it’s not good enough, the club is going backwards. I said that to them on Friday.
“It is because we’re fourth bottom on the pitch, but it’s going backwards because nothing’s happening.”
Meanwhile, Doncaster manager Grant McCann has promised to deal with fans who spat at a Bristol Rovers ball boy.
McCann’s side were celebrating their victory when the crying youth was brought to striker Alfie May’s attention.
A furious McCann hit out at the culprits and insisted their actions had taken the gloss off his side’s victory.
He said: “I want to tell you how disgusted I am with some of our fans after the game.
“One of the ball boys from Bristol Rovers has come in crying his eyes out. Fair play to Alfie May, he’s brought him in, but if we find out who those fans are we’ll make sure they will be dealt with. I’m disgusted with it.
“They came to support us and our fans are outstanding, but it takes two or three idiots to spit in a ball boy’s face. I think it’s embarrassing.
“Credit to our fans today, they were outstanding, but two or three of them can give us a bad name and I’m really, really upset about it.”
McCann ensured the ball boy was given a signed Donny shirt, and warned that they were aware of which fans were responsible.
He said: “It’s not nice, Alfie has brought the boy in and knows who the people are who spat in the boy’s face.
“I’ve just got the boy a signed shirt and I couldn’t have been more apologetic to him. I’m disgusted.”
» Bristol Rovers will have to get past Northampton Town to reach the next round of the Checkatrade Trophy. The Gas came second in a group with West Ham United Under-21s, Yeovil Town and Exeter City, before seeing off Swansea City in the second round of the competition.
They now make the trip to Sixfields Stadium in the week commencing Monday, January 7.