Clarke will 'never quit' despite record losing run

Darrell Clarke has been at Bristol Rovers before with the club on a slide that could end with them relegated out of the English Football League and his job on the line.

When he was first appointed in March 2014, Clarke was unable to stop the inevitable and on the final day the Gas dropped into the National League.

Clarke and his players were booed off the pitch during that game and the sentiment did not improve over the summer, with results slow to get going as the new campaign started.

"We played a game, Telford at home," Clarke told BBC Radio Bristol. "And rumour has it - I pretty much had this confirmed - that if I didn't win this game I was going to be out the door.

"It feels a bit like this tomorrow. We won that game and the rest is history."

Ollie Clarke scored the only goal of the game for Rovers on that transformational day in August 2014. The midfielder is now with Swindon as the two sides meet at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Darrell Clarke's return to north Bristol this summer has been far from a happy reunion.

A heavy 4-0 defeat to Barnet on Tuesday was their ninth consecutive league loss - a club record.

Their last win came back on 27 September and they now hover precariously above the bottom two by just a point.

Clarke has been scathing in his assessment of performances over recent months - he described the midweek loss as "diabolical" and last month said the club was "a negative place".

Yet he describes himself as an "unbelievable fighter" who will "never quit".

With the high-flying Robins next to visit the Memorial Stadium in the M4 derby, Clarke is well aware of the reality of what another defeat could mean for his future.

"I've got no qualms about it, if you don't win games as a manager you get sacked," he added.

"Do I think I deserve times and windows? I always will and I'll be angry if I don't and upset because this means to me more than any other club than I've managed because of the massive amounts of history.

"I still think I can turn this football club around."

Rovers have scored just three goals and conceded 24 goals during their nine-game losing spell - letting in four goals on four occasions - resulting in the worst goal difference in the division: -20, three goals worse off than the next-worst team, Cheltenham Town.

The 47-year-old acknowledges that as the head coach the results lie with him, but that he also needs to see a lot more from his players.

"The buck stops me with me, I have to get more out of them, give them more belief, more confidence, try and get them to the levels that some of them are capable of reaching but we haven't done that," Clarke said.

"The players are holding accountability which is in some ways good but let's see it - that's what we need to see, we need to see that translated when the pressure's on come kick-off.

"What better game to do it - derby game, they're flying - to go and show we have the character, we have a way to respond."