Darrell Clarke
Clarke as manager of Bristol Rovers in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darrell James Clarke | ||
| Date of birth | 16 December 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Mansfield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder / Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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Bristol Rovers (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1995 | Mansfield Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2001 | Mansfield Town | 159 | (24) |
| 2001–2007 | Hartlepool United | 127 | (19) |
| 2005 | → (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Port Vale (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Rochdale (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2007–2013 | Salisbury City | 138 | (12) |
| Total | 438 | (56) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2010–2013 | Salisbury City | ||
| 2014– | Bristol Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English former professional footballer who is manager at League One club Bristol Rovers.
A midfielder, his career began with Mansfield Town in 1995, where he spent the first six years of his career, making 160 league appearances. In 2001, he transferred to Hartlepool United, where he spent another six years, racking up 127 appearances in the league. He was sent out on loan to , Port Vale, and Rochdale in the final years of his spell. In 2007, he left the professional game to sign for Salisbury City, before taking up the management position at the club in 2010. He led the club to promotion into the Conference Premier from the Southern League with two play-off final victories in three seasons.
He was appointed manager of Bristol Rovers in March 2014, but could not prevent the club from dropping out of the Football League. However, one year later, Clarke successfully guided Bristol Rovers back into the Football League after winning the 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final, and then went on to take the club into League One with promotion out of League Two in 2015–16.
Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Clarke started his career at Mansfield Town when he joined their youth set up at the age of just 10. He made his way through the ranks and was offered a professional contract at Field Mill by Andy King in 1995. The "Stags" struggled near the foot of the Third Division in 1995–96, rising to mid-table in 1996–97 and 1997–98, before finishing one place outside the play-offs in 1998–99. They then dropped back into the lower half of the table in 1999–2000 and 2000–01 after manager Steve Parkin was replaced by Bill Dearden. While at Mansfield he became a fan favourite, partly because he was a home grown talent. He made over 150 league and cup appearances for the club, scoring 27 goals. As his contract ran to its end, he attracted the attention of several other clubs and he was offered a contract at Hartlepool United by Chris Turner.
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