Darrell Clarke spoke to the local media at his pre-match press conference for Tuesday's game at home to Newport County.
Asking the questions were BBC Radio Stoke’s Lee Blakeman, The Sentinel and StokeonTrent Live’s Mike Baggaley and George Andrews of HitMix Radio.
HOW IS MORALE IN THE CAMP WITH THINGS NOT GOING YOUR WAY AND HOW BIG IS YOUR JOB TO MAINTAIN IT?
“That is my job to do that isn’t it? Football is a massive confidence thing, momentum as well. We haven’t got that, anywhere near that. But also by making sure that tomorrow night we go our ready and prepared to win a football game.
“That is my job as manager, and my support staff’s job, to be able do that. We will have a game plan for Newport.
“I don’t think there’s any getting around that it’s a massive game for us and is one where we want to get that win.”
SINCE YOU HAVE COME IN YOU HAVE BEEN VERY HONEST AFTER GAMES WHEN YOU HAVE SAID QUALITY HASN’T QUITE BEEN THERE AND YOU HAVE QUESTIONED FITNESS AT TIMES. THAT HAS LED TO SOME PEOPLE COMING ON TO SAY ‘WOW, THIS GUY IS HONEST, MAYBE HE IS TOO HONEST AT TIMES.’
IS THERE A DANGER OF THAT? BEING TOO HONEST AND MAYBE ISOLATING MEMBERS OF THE GROUP?
“I mentioned this at the forum. At the end of the day, I am not here to mollycoddle the players, I am sorry.
“Listen, I don’t come out and say to the press (anything) that I haven’t already said to my players. I am straight down the line on this. People think honesty is not always the best way but I try to be as honest to my fans, to Port Vale supporters…that’s the way.
“I think the players, for a mixture of reasons, not blaming anybody, are not as fit as I want them to be.
“Now, that is the way I like my teams – high energy. When I was managing at Bristol Rovers we had a really big pitch. I think Port Vale has the potential to be a real big pitch and we should be effective so players can get up and down that pitch very often in a full 90 minute game without breaking down or without having concerns to break down. Certainly with the backing that I think the club has given to the playing squad, we should have fitter players.
“So, if the players don’t like that, then get fitter, surely?”
IS THERE A DANGER WHEN YOU ARE IN A RELEGATION BATTLE THAT BEING TOO HONEST COULD KIND OF SEE YOU LOSE MEMBERS OF A GROUP?
“I think there’s too much into that. Listen, you go and speak to any player that I have managed and go and ask them what they think about Darrell Clarke and his man management. Go and speak to anybody I have released, I have released hundreds of players, I have managed hundreds of players, so go and ask them.
“I am straight down the line. I do a lot of individual man management stuff. I know I have the buy-in from the players here. They know where we are lacking as a team, as a group, so for me it is never an issue.
“I think it is more people reading into (an issue) that is not even there to be honest with you. Let’s nip that in the bud. I believe I have all the players’ hearts and minds, I want as many of those players to stay on the bus. What I mean by that is make sure you are going to be part of the club’s future.
“That is the first thing I said when I came in the door, that is the thing I keep reiterating to the boys. Let me try to do things that I think are the right things to do at a football club over the period of time.
“For me, the majority of the lads, if not all the lads, have bought into that and they understand where I am coming from.”
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE RUN IN? YOU HAVE A FEW GAMES AGAINST TEAMS AROUND YOU – ALL AWAY TYPICALLY, COLCHESTER, BARROW AND GRIMSBY. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE GAMES YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY TO PULL CLEAR, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THEM?
“I would love to be looking that far along, Lee. Listen, let’s win tomorrow. I am desperate for my first win but I am desperate for my fans to get that win, for my players to get that win and the football club to get that win.
“So, let’s take each game – I know it’s a boring cliché, and I don’t really like to be clichéd, but that’s the fact of the matter. Let’s try to win tomorrow night and then we will look at Colchester away on Saturday, then we will look at the next one, and the next.
“We know we are in a dogfight, we know we are in a scrap, we know our form has been atrocious since November. We well understand that. So, let’s go and try to get the tree points tomorrow.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE GAP BETWEEN YOU AND NEWPORT….YOU ARE FOURTH BOTTOM AND THEY ARE FOURTH TOP – IS THERE THAT MUCH IN IT THOUGH REALLY?
“I have said it before, I think the teams at the top are more consistent at times, they get a little bit more rub of the green, but then you could say they make their own luck. Look at the game on Saturday, there wasn’t a lot in the game was there to be fair. Their lad hits a mishit shot into the bottom corner, the game could have gone either way.
“Were we lacking that quality again? Yes.
“Are we working hard to try to get that bit of quality back into the side, and the belief, as well as the defensive structure which I think has worked quite well. We are losing the games by the odd goal, but they are losses.
“So, plenty of work to be done, that’s for sure.”
YOU JUST MENTIONED YOU ARE DESPERATE FOR YOUR FIRST WIN. AS A PROUD PERSON, AS THE NEW MANAGER HOW MUCH OF THE SITUATION WITHOUT THE WIN EATEN AWAY AT YOU?
“It eats away at me every game I don’t win to be honest with you. I hate it, it ruins my weekend obviously. But then on Monday morning I am ready to go again.
“I have experienced runs like this as a manager. I have experienced long unbeaten runs as well. It is a lot more difficult this way! But I am probably even more intense on a good run to be honest with you because that’s when complacency can set in.
“Trying to get that level ground is difficult as a manager. I think I would be lying if I didn’t say that. Times are difficult when you are not (winning) but I am the leader, I am the one that reboots everybody, I am the one that kicks the backsides or puts an arm around players, certain individuals that I think need that. And I am the one who sets the game plan, so on my head be it.”
DARRELL, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR LEFT-BACK SITUATION AFTER ADAM CROOKES HAD TO GO OFF INJURED ON SATURDAY?
“It’s not looking well there Mike, are we? As you said, Crookesy coming off on Saturday is obviously a big disappointment but we just have to get on with it. I am not going to look for excuses. I try not to.
“I think a lot of managers, and I have been guilty of it in the past, you look for coping mechanisms and blaming this, that and the other.
“The fact of the matter is I want to try to come away from that culture a little bit.
“The supporters aren’t stupid but I have to be able to come away from the excuses and just crack on with whatever is put in front of us, because I think if the manager is making excuses then that gives the players (reason) to look for excuses – and there are no excuses for the players.
“We are in a very poor position and we have to get results.”
IS DAVID FITZPATRICK CLOSE? COULD HE BE IN CONTENTION?
“He is on the grass Mike, we will see how that one develops.”
I APPRECIATE THIS IS A SORT OF QUESTION ABOUT INJURIES BUT WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT TOM POPE. COULD HE STILL PLAY A PART FOR YOU?
“Yes, we are working hard on Popey’s fitness, waiting for him to get into contact training. Too right, we need Popey fit so we are working hard to get him fit.
“It was an arm injury so we have been able to get him to (fitness) levels. Popey is never going to be a spring chicken is he, but he is not about that, he is a goalscorer. Put the ball in the box and Popey normally scores a goal so we are going to try to get him as fit as possible and hopefully have him for some part of the run in.”
YOU SAID TO US AFTER SATURDAY’S GAME THAT YOU HAD TOLD PLAYERS IN THE DRESSING ROOM, ‘IF YOU ARE NOT UP FOR THIS, NOW IS THE TIME TO SAY.’
WHAT RESPONSE HAVE YOU HAD TO THAT, OR WILL YOU GET THAT DURING THE MATCH?
“Fortunately enough, no one has knocked on my door yet, Mike, they might have got volleyed out of my office to be honest with you.
“I just want people that are going to be here scrapping with me. I am a fighter, I have been a fighter all my life. I was brought up on a rough estate, this is not for self-pity, and I am not being funny, but everything I have earned in my life hasn’t been with a silver spoon.
“So, I just crack on and that is what I want my players to do, crack on. I don’t want weak mindsets, I don’t want players feeling sorry for themselves because they are getting stick. Expect stick. I expect stick, I haven’t won for seven games as a manager.
“Players should expect the stick for being in the rubbish situation they are in. So, when I talk about leaders and men and people wanting to be up for that fight……if you are not up for it, come and knock on my door and I will leave you out, it is quite simple. Because I look in one or two of their eyes and, you know, I do have my reservations. I keep that to myself, who I think that is, but in general I think the lads are fighting hard.”
JUST TOUCHING ON SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED TO LEE ABOUT THE PITCH AND HAVING A BIG PITCH AT BRISTOL ROVERS. SO, NEXT SEASON WHEN YOU HAVE THE FITNESS LEVELS YOU WANT WOULD YOU LOOK AT MAKING THE PITCH WIDER?
“Yes, I will. I will be looking to extend it, without a shadow of a doubt. Too right. It is our own pitch, our own turf. We want athletic players and high energy on the pitch so I don’t see any reason not to try to extend it, especially making sure we recruit for good athletes which is obviously going to be very important.
“Walsall is a very tight pitch and, with loads of other games on it, it was hard to keep the condition of the pitch great. But I think we can keep the pitch condition here good. I think we can extend it.
“We want our fans to come and enjoy the occasion and enjoy watching a team on the front foot. So, that’s the long term game, Mike, but I’ll be honest with you, it has been breaking my heart to be speaking too much long term because we have so much to do on the short-term things that I can’t get too excited about that just yet.”
YOU JUST WANT THOSE POINTS SO YOU CAN START PLANNING PROPERLY FOR THE SUMMER?
“I do. But I am sick of saying that every week, Mike. We just have to focus on Tuesday night. I am hoping the future is going to be bright but let’s do what we need to do in these 11 games.”
HOW DIFFICULT HAS IT BEEN WITH THE QUICK TURN AROUND OF GAMES?
“It has, but, reiterating what I have said before, I don’t want to use excuses because I think people get tired of hearing excuses. We could harp on about a lot of things, injuries, lack of training time, games in quick succession.
“At the end of the day, the buck stops with me. I am disappointed with the points return. Do I think five or those games could have gone a different way? Yes I do if I am honest with you. But they haven’t and it is my responsibility to make that change very quickly.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE GETTING THE RESPONSE FROM THE PLAYERS NOW YOU HAVE BEEN WITH THEM FOR A FEW WEEKS?
“I must admit, if I went on effort and commitment, that has not been a problem. It is the quality that has been the problem. For me, we have matched teams with the energy levels but we have lacked that quality in most areas of the pitch. That is the quality we are trying to improve.
“I think the defensive shape of the team…we have lost games by the odd goal. We haven’t created enough at the top end, albeit getting into some good areas at times. The play from back to front hasn’t been good enough at times so there is a mixture of quite a few things that we haven’t got ourselves going to that sort of level. But we are working hard to rectify that.”
IT’S A FINE LINE ISN’T IT, MAYBE TO JUST GETTING THAT RUB OF THE GREEN?
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves and say, ‘if this hadn’t happened, we didn’t deserve this....’
“We can’t do anything about that now. We have to make our own luck. We can’t rely on luck either. We have to show that in the performance.
“I think the Oldham game warranted three points, we didn’t get that because we weren’t good enough in the final third.
“The Bolton game for me warranted at least a point but we didn’t get that so we can’t dwell on these things. We just have to focus on putting it right on Tuesday, I think it’s a massive game and I am not going to paper over that.
“I am really looking forward to it. We have the game plan, we are going to see how we approach it and hopefully the players can put on a performance that we can all be proud of.”
