I’d Be Surprised – Ex-Striker Unsure On Bristol Rovers Turnaround Under Steve Evans | OneFootball

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Former EFL striker Sam Parkin sees similarities between new Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans and his predecessor, Darrell Clarke, and is doubtful about the 63-year-old’s ability to get the Gas out of trouble.

Bristol Rovers parted ways with Clarke last Saturday following ten straight defeats in League Two, which saw them slide down into the relegation zone.

In November, Parkin said Clarke had a real mess to clean up the Memorial Stadium and was being given additional time because of his association with the club.

Patience eventually ran out for Bristol Rovers and they have now roped in Evans to stop the rot.

The 63-year-old’s last job at Rotherham United was not a fruitful one and now he has yet another tough ask to prevent the Pirates from going down to the National League.

Parkin sees similarities in approaches between Evans and his predecessor Clarke in terms of togetherness, hard work and being good from set-pieces.

He stressed that Bristol Rovers have suffered a hangover from last year’s relegation and Clarke did inherit a difficult situation at the club.

“I have never worked for either of the chaps, Darrell Clarke or Steve Evans, but I would suggest that there are similarities with the two, the way they set their teams up”, Parkin said on What The EFL (6.58).

“It is about togetherness, hard work, fine margins in terms of being good at set-pieces and what have you.

“And it would have felt like Darrell Clarke going in with those attributes as well as his history at Bristol Rovers, it would have been the perfect match.  

“I had been there in the spring last year when they were relegation-threatened, but still had a little bit of movement potentially.

“I just thought that the place was a bit of a mess and I have always liked the Memorial Ground because it is really unique, it has got something about it, quite old-school.

“I had just been speaking to some of the people around the club, it just felt like there wasn’t much joined-up thinking, they were trying to play quite easy on the eye football. Didn’t think they had the players.

“There was a softness about them and I think in the spring they beat Bolton at home and they didn’t win for ten games.

“So, this has been a hangover from last season.

“And Darrell got that little bit of pick-up when they were on a bit of an unbeaten run, when they had five wins and two draws.

“You subsequently lose ten, you can’t highlight one area, they are not scoring, they are shipping loads at the other end.

“So, I think he inherited a bit of a mess in truth but having had a huge overhaul of the squad, as owners, you have got to see results.

“They clearly haven’t seen that.”

Parkin admits he has doubts over whether Evans can turn things around at Bristol Rovers and indicated that the Gas could well be scrapping against relegation throughout the campaign.

“It is another change but whether Steve Evans can affect things, given that Darrell Clarke couldn’t, I would be surprised.

“I would be surprised if this isn’t a challenging season scrambling for their survival, especially given that Steve Evans’ last gig didn’t go particularly well either at Rotherham.

“Everyone thought that was probably a tap-in to success given his track record at the club.”

Evans will want to make sure he can get a quick improvement out of the Bristol Rovers team to try and head into 2026 outside the relegation zone in League Two.

Three games remain in December for the Gas, with a trip to Crewe Alexandra and visits from Bromley and Barnet.