Football Clarke looks the man to give Rovers the lift they badly need

DARRELL Clarke is back at Bristol Rovers, a sentence that Gasheads longed to one day read but perhaps never saw it ever becoming a reality.

- Daniel HARGRAVES

Six-and-a-half years on from his departure, the 47-year-old has returned to BS7 at a time when his beloved Rovers badly need rejuvenating. Nothing can take away from the fact that this has been a grim campaign, but at least optimism has been restored ahead of a critical period for the club.

The disconnect between fanbase and football club grew worse as the season worsened with toxicity particularly virulent over the past couple of weeks as relegation started to look inevitable. By no means have the club's problems been immediately extinguished as a result of this sole appointment, but it is a significant step in the right direction.

After it looked likely that Inigo Calderon would be leaving the football club, the process of names being thrown into the ring began. That process has been far too frequent over the past 18 months and that’s perhaps one of the errors that has led to the football club dropping back into League Two.

Michael Duff, Steve Evans and Ian Evatt were some of the names suggested by Gasheads, all of whom have League Two promotions on their respective CVs which had to be a minimum requirement for a club of Rovers’ stature in the fourth tier. However, only two letters reflected the thoughts of the majority of Gas supporters - ‘DC.