Life after Rovers was difficult at first, admits Clarke

DARRELL Clarke has opened up on the difficulty he faced adapting to life after Bristol Rovers.

Clarke departed Rovers in December 2018, leaving the club a legend following two promotions, but also with a sense of sadness after speaking out against the club’s board.

After more than four years at the Gas, Clarke admitted it was difficult to see his players continuing as normal when he left.

“As soon as you leave as manager, and you’re clearing your office, the lads are training as normal,” he said to ESPN.

“That’s the reality of it. They’re getting on. They’re professionals, and football goes on.”

Clarke eventually took over at Walsall following their relegation to League Two. While he turned down jobs before joining the Saddlers, Clarke admitted that there was a worry over where his next opportunity would be.

The 42-year-old also revealed how difficult it was to adapt following his departure from Rovers.

He explained: “You’re worried where the next job is going to come along ... because as a lower-league manager, you definitely have bills and mortgages to pay ... so you certainly can’t be out of the game for too long.

“But you do feel the lack of routine, waking up with no decisions to make. I’ve tried to programme my mind to enjoy pressure because that’s how it is as a football manager. So then to come away from that, the intensity of that, I found it very difficult.

“I’ve never been able to handle losing football games. That’s always felt like a loss in the family. That’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, but I think when you leave your job, certainly you feel very, very low, and you need to try as quickly as you can to pick yourself back up, to reflect, to let yourself get over that disappointment, and it takes a bit of time.”