A full transcript of Darrell Clarke’s post-match comments after Bristol Rovers beat Oxford United 1-0 in their final pre-season friendly

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

17:55, 26 Jul 2025

Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke looks on(Image: Bristol Rovers FC)

Bristol Rovers ended their pre-season schedule with a 1-0 win at Championship side Oxford United on Saturday afternoon, with substitute Micah Anthony scoring midway through the second half.

In a game of limited clear-cut opportunities, the Gas battled well against their second-tier hosts, demonstrating impressive work without the ball.

It was also a side with a number of changes to Wednesday evening’s 2-0 defeat at home to Coventry City as Bryant Bilongo, Dan Ellison, Luke Thomas, Ollie Dewsbury and a trialist, believed to be former Forest Green Rovers winger Jordan Garrick, came into the starting line up.

READ MORE: Report: Bristol Rovers conclude pre-season preparations with friendly win at Championship side

Meanwhile, academy graduates Charlie White, Brooklyn Leipus, Charlie Moody and Tom English were included on the bench, with White and English getting on the pitch in the second half.

However, there were also a number of notable absentees with Connor Taylor, Ruel Sotiriou, Kofi Shaw, Shaq Forde and Macauley Southam-Hales amongst the players missing from the squad.

Gas head coach Darrell Clarke spoke to Bristol Live post-match to share his reflections. Here is every word the Rovers boss said…

Darrell, the final friendly of your pre-season schedule, what did you make of that one today?

Good workout against obviously a Championship team. I thought the shape of the team was very good, a bit similar to large spells in the first half against Coventry the other day. But, you know, we limited [them] to not too many chances, obviously had a lot of ball because of the quality and we defended really well as a team. Probably what was a little bit different to the Coventy game was we’ve got a bit more control in moments of the game, which we’re going to need.

You have had quite a few players from the academy feature today, notably Charlie White and Tom English coming on. That must be really pleasing for you.

Yeah, listen, it’s great to see, and the fans love to see it, and the young lads have done the club proud today. They are young lads. We can’t put too much responsibility on their shoulders and it’s a slow build for those young players, but they certainly did themselves justice today, which is what I want to see and what I demand, so credit to them, but a lot of work ahead for them and us.

How do you feel pre-season has gone?

Yeah, listen, I never get carried away pre-season, that is for sure. I think it’s been a bit bitty. I think it’s had to be a little bit controlled with, like I said before, loads of players missing minutes last season and, you know, fell behind. We’ve got to be careful because we’ve got to wait for one or two reinforcements, certainly the top end of the pitch as well, and that’ll obviously help to push players on a little more. But it’s gone okay.

As we stand here, the season starts in a week. How are you feeling ahead of the start of the new campaign?

I’m feeling alright, yeah.

Listen, I don’t get carried away. I go straight to the next game. The Rovers fans have heard this when I was here eight or nine years ago. I’m very, very strong-minded and the fact is that we just focus on the next game.

Is the season exciting? Of course it is. Do I enjoy that? Yeah, to the build-up. We’ve got a lot of work to do with this group, a lot of work and that ain’t going to happen in four and a half weeks. You know, mentality, technically.

The information we’re trying to get, the press we want to get. All those bits and pieces are slow building blocks, and when the season starts, there’ll still be those blocks we’re trying to put in place.

There were some players missing from your squad today, albeit for a friendly, most notably Connor Taylor. Could you tell us why he was missing today?

Yeah, just different reasons why players missed the game today. I’ve got to look after the squad.

And so some of those are fitness concerns?

Yeah.

What about Shaq Forde? We spoke about him after he went off on Wednesday.

Listen, I’ll say this. I give very little away on players and squads and injuries. I’m not doing other managerial jobs for them.

Lastly, with a week to go until the season starts, do you think your squad will look any different from today in terms of players potentially coming in or leaving?

Yeah, there’ll be reinforcements that come in. We’re working hard at that. So the window is the end of August, it’s never easy. Windows are never ever easy. So we concentrate, there’s a lot of work going on in the background.

But the players that come into here have got to come and build the culture and the environment that we’ve tried hard to build just in a four-week period and make sure they’re the right players that fit into that. So, yeah, I see one or two coming in the building.

READ MORE: Oxford United 0-1 Bristol Rovers live: Reaction as Micah Anthony goal earns Gas friendly win