Hussain Al Saeed interview notebook: Bristol Rovers chairman on The Mem Redevelopment, Steve Evans, and long-term strategy

Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain AlSaeed has spoken to the club’s media via YouTube – discussing the sacking of Darrell Clarke, the appointment of Steve Evans and plans for the Memorial Stadium and the Quarters redevelopment

17:47, 02 Jan 2026Updated 17:50, 02 Jan 2026

Hussain Al Saeed arrived at Bristol Rovers in August 2023(Image: Bristol Rovers FC)

Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain AlSaeed has spoken out in a near 45 minutes interview on the club’s YouTube channel. Al Saeed released a statement on Christmas Eve, inviting fans to send questions to him to discuss the club’s “ambitions, strategy, long-term vision, key decisions, short-term plans, and future objectives”.

Since investing in the club in August 2023, AlSaeed has overseen last season’s relegation to League Two and five different managers – Joey Barton, Matt Taylor, Inigo Calderon, Darrell Clarke and Steve Evans. The 2025/26 campaign has also been below par, with the Gas lingering just four points above the relegation zone, including a run of ten consecutive league defeats – an unwanted club record.

With the interview posted on January 2 lasting 45 minutes, this article would be a long one if we were to cover every single point AlSaeed touched on. If you wish to listen to the chat yourself, you can do so via the club’s YouTube channel here .

For now, we have picked out some of the stand-out talking points from the interview and compiled them together in one notebook here…

OPINION

Darrell Clarke replaced by Steve Evans

Clarke returned to the Gas in the summer – seven years after his first spell in charge of the club, which saw him win back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One. Despite an eight-match unbeaten run in the early parts of the season, Rovers endured a torrid run of 10 consecutive league defeats in October, November and December, meaning Clarke was sacked.

Speaking about the departure of the 48-year-old, AlSaeed said: “Well, this takes us back to the summer of this year where actually we were looking for somebody who can actually build a team to go forward and we thought DC ticked all the boxes. So, we were happy to have him back in-house. I think everybody was excited, everybody was enthusiastic about what he would do. We backed him up in the summer transfer window and we brought 14 players exactly and we released 16 players. After that also after the window closed we also added two more players. So in total 16 players.

“I think everybody wanted Darrell to succeed – whether the board, the fans, but for some reason or another this is football and it did not work out for him and unfortunately we gave him enough time and maybe more than enough would people say to me, that we have gone 10 games, losses and that would have been in any normal circumstances would be too much. However, for a person like Darrell Clarke, he deserved more time and I’d rather be, you know, accused of giving him more time than really cutting him short. He’s still [a] legend for the club. He is a good friend and we wish him all the best. And it’s unfortunate that it did not work the second time around with us.”

Darrell Clarke, Manager of Bristol Rovers looks dejected after losing during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Bristol Rovers and Swindon Town at Memorial Stadium on 13 December 2025. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK(Image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)

Evans replaced Clarke and has so far picked up four points from his opening four games, including a 3-0 win on New Year’s Day against Shrewsbury Town. “Having said that, we have moved quickly to get another person which you know by appointing Steve Evans. We thought this is the right person. We needed somebody with a lot of experience in the EFL, League One, League Two. Somebody with a big and influential character, charisma and knowing what he wants.

“And from the first meeting that we had with him, we knew that he is the right man for the rest of the season. Now, of course, coming in two weeks before the window, I think that would give him enough time to evaluate what he has, the squad he has and how much he will add in the in the winter transfer window and we will support him throughout and we already had a couple of meetings about this subject and he is working very hard with Ricky at the moment to identify the players, the positions they’re looking for and we will be with them all the way.

“And we feel that Steve will do the job – will get the job done and get the team back where it is, where it was in an even better position and certainly we are not happy at all of where we’re at. This club deserves much better and we will make sure that we do all that we can to help the club go forward.”

January transfer window

AlSaeed eluded to the January transfer window in the answer above and Evans has repeatedly made clear in the last few weeks that himself and director of football, Ricky Martin, are looking to make quick additions to the squad, as Rovers look to climb away from the League Two relegation zone. In fact, the 63-year-old said yesterday that a new signing is “imminent,” with the club hoping to wrap up the deal in the next day or so. Funds will be made available to Evans and Martin in January, and AlSaeed emphasised the importance of backing the new head coach given the position the club find themselves in.

The chairman said: “Absolutely. This is something that we talked about. We had [a] couple of meetings with Steve and Ricky [Martin] and this is something agreed, they’re working on identifying what players they need, what position they need and we’ll back them up definitely this January.”

When asked about the process of identifying new players, he added: “Well, actually what we have done and what we have set up is a director of football, which is Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin has over 20 years of experience in football plus now with Steve Evans, I think both combined have over 50 years. So this is what we’re looking for, is we get the expert in-house, plus give them enough support that they need in order to achieve their goals. So that’s the kind of environment we want to create in the club.”

A player that Rovers are interested in is Ryan de Havilland, who is currently surplus to requirements at League One Peterborough United. Whether a deal can be completed remains to be seen, but the 24-year-old central midfielder would be a smart addition.

Memorial Stadium and The Quarters Training Facility redevelopment

Two months later after AlSaeed invested in Rovers, he confirmed that he would look to redevelop the Mem, instead of building a new stadium at the Fruit Market site. These proposals included increasing the capacities in the East Stand and Thatcher’s End (North Stand) to take the overall capacity up to a figure between 16,000 and 17,000.

The South Stand redevelopment at The Mem was completed later that year, with supporters in the new facility for the first time in December 2023. It boosted the capacity of the stadium by more than 2,000, but the plans to modernise the rest of the stands within the stadium have not come to fruition yet.

The new South Stand at the Memorial Stadium(Image: James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)

AlSaeed has also expressed his desire to redevelop The Quarters Training Facility providing the following update in January 2025, when speaking to BRTV : “For the training ground, we have also submitted the pre-application in September 2024. We had [an] initial meeting, a very good meeting, with the council and we are waiting for their reply regarding our proposal for the training ground.”

The chairman was asked to give an update on both of these projects, giving the following answer, “Yeah. Well, I mean the infrastructure of the club is really the two files. I’m really taking it very seriously and I have spoken about that and our intention and we always have said that this club deserves a better infrastructure, a better stadium all the way. And it’s you know something that, when we joined we were under the impression that there would be a stadium in the Fruit Market and that of course did not happen. So the first thing we looked after was the redevelopment of the Memorial. Now since we’ve spoke which is the last year and a half about this subject we have done all sort of studies, the traffic control, the model, the transport modelling, all that needed for really expanding The Memorial and unfortunately as we have got those reports back all with red flags, in what we’re trying to do or what we are trying to achieve.

“Now the main thing that we are looking for is really making the stadium very comforting and inviting for the families and children and with the limitation that we have in terms of size, in terms of the EFL rules and regulation of the concourse behind the stands made it again extremely difficult to try to keep, for example, the parking lot that we have into basically, if we need to do those stands, we will have to take about three-quarters of the parking, which would leave us again with the only small number of cars.

“So that does not really help the club much. So in all that studies that we have done in the last year and a half and I think we spend almost £400,000, £420,000 to be exact, on the architect design, on the consultancy, onto the study, and to the surveyors, a lot of it came with red flag of what we’re trying to accomplish in terms of increasing the capacity of The Memorial and make it more comfortable for the fans, for the families basically.

“So what we are looking at now is that is there is any other way to try to make it a better stadium than what we have. Is it worth the money we’re going to spend, to make that improvement? Would that be good enough for the club? All of those questions and I think we’re facing with, we are really taking careful study and consultation, a move like this, it has to be well studied and we really want the best.”

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So, does that mean we have given up on this redevelopment? No. We are still exploring, we are still consulting with experts if those things can be avoided and achieved with this current situation. However, we’re also looking at other options. I think it goes without saying for me, the most important thing is to get a good size stadium for this club. So whether it’s in The Memorial or anywhere else, that is the main goal that we are looking for. So this is where we’re at and maybe not the final decision yet, but I think the fans wanted to have an update and this is where the situation is at the moment.”

In terms of The Quarters, AlSaeed provided the following update, “As for the Quarters I think the plans have been submitted. We had a meeting with the council. I think things are moving well. However, now we have taken since we have submitted the plans, we have taken the women’s team also and that also requires additional infrastructure, plus the academy, in order to promote our academy and take it from category three to two. So all that puts additional pressure on the design, whether to expand on the existing design or to also add another facility to The Quarters. I think what we are looking for is that we’re looking to have proper infrastructure for the long-term and would allow us to expand. As for the first team, of course, the current training ground I think would be among the one of the best in League Two and League One in terms of facility for the first-team.

“But that’s not our goal only. Our goal was to add all those other activities of the club, the academy, plus of course the women teams. If we get promoted into the next level, we are required to actually create [an] academy for the women’s team and that also gives additional pressure into having a space to expand in the quarter. So having all that done, we’re [in] continuous meetings with the council to really get this across and we’re expecting something on this dialogue within the summer. However, I might add that all the studies and the consultation is ongoing from ecology, from transportation that is ongoing and we have spent and invested money into that category. So this is where we at on The Quarters.”

Head of Media, Mitch Waddon, then asked AlSaeed to clarify that the club is looking at developing the Mem, but is also exploring other options for future stadium development if required. The chairman said: “Yes, absolutely. And I promise the fans that once we are clear into which direction we will go, we will update them and give them. But I am very careful when it comes to the stadium. I want to make sure that the information I give out is the thing that is going on, rather than giving them a hope where we can later on say it’s not possible, but again it’s not only our decision there’s other people there are consultants, studies, that also determine the decision.

In terms of how tough the process has been to redevelop the Mem and the Quarters, AlSaeed added: “Extremely. Extremely. I mean we come from a background of really much easier surrounding in terms of authority, in terms of approvals and what I have faced is something that is totally opposite of that. Things takes time and things take a lot of effort, studies, a lot of cost to get into this situation. So yes, I am surprised with that but this is the rules here and we’ll have to follow it.”

In terms of providing future updates on these two projects, he said: “Yes, absolutely. I think we will keep them updated on the situation or where we’re at in terms of the redevelopment, the studies, the challenges that we are facing and we’ll keep updating them until we get into a final decision. But yes, I mean they have the right to know and we have the duty to deliver that to them.”

Future plans for supporter communication

Supporters have become frustrated with the lack of communication from the AlSaeed ownership. Before the Christmas Eve message revealing that he was answering fan questions in a club interview, the last statement from AlSaeed came in May 2025 following the relegation to League Two. With 30 league defeats in 2025 and the team going backwards on the pitch, this had led to anger towards the ownership, with ‘SpeakUpOrSellUp’ banners, organised by an online group, seen in the South Stand before the home games against Swindon Town and Barnet.

Speaking about his communication to the club’s supporters and why he has not released a statement since the summer, he said: “Well, I mean we actually discussed this matter with the current structure that we have. Ritchie [Bates] is in constant talk and discussion with the consultation group of the fans, as well as the supporters club all that feeding of information. Now I get it that maybe the fans would like to hear from me more often. However, I must say that Ritchie and Ricky, they’re all aware of all the details that we have when we share it with them. There is nothing that we are doing that the executive people in the club they’re not aware of.

“So what you hear from Ritchie is actually what is going on and this is just delivering that information. Same with Ricky, which we believe that he will also be coming out regularly now to update the fans after the windows and also at the end of the season before the next windows of what is the plan and what he would do and believe me Ricky will come out and say what is going on exactly in terms of how the board communicate with them and what is the going forward the way it was going forward.

“So Ritchie and Ricky have all the information that the fans are looking for. But yes, I will, on the demand of the fans, to get more communication and that’s what they will get, but believe me they have all the information that they’re looking for and I think they could answer many of their questions that they have in mind.”

Bristol Rovers chairman Hussain Al Saeed(Image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)

AlSaeed also said that he’d be keen to do similar forums to discuss fan questions moving forward and would be open to conducting interviews with external media, saying that “we will consider that in the future”.

Mistakes in ownership so far

When asked about whether he has made mistakes so far during his time at the club, AlSaeed said: “Of course, if you are working and you’re doing all that job, of course you make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, but the question is what have you learned from this? Yes, we have. Will you repeat the same mistake? No. Will you make another mistake? I think yes. All that I think is a continuous process for any work environment and the main thing is that we get the right people in house, give them enough support to succeed and that’s what we’re looking for, whether it’s in the sport side or in the admin side, they’re both important but I get it, it’s the 90 minutes the pitch is really determine how this club is doing.

“Even though we have spent a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of money to really fix the other side of the budget, the admin, but again people don’t see that, but they see the result and we understand that and we are working very hard to fix that side as well. So yes, we acknowledge that.”

The chairman was also asked about whether he has any regrets since investing in the club, providing the following answer, “Well, in any business, in any matter of life, you have the moment where you regret doing something. But what you do is that you think about it, you pause and you keep going. And, for me with my experience in business, I am not a quitter and I don’t really shy from any problems. What I look at it is that every time a problems face me, we will make it as a challenge. And that challenge we transform it into opportunity and we take it from there.

“So we will still continue to try and work very hard to get this club going and working in the right direction. So the question is do I at the end of the day regret buying Bristol Rovers? Absolutely not. I think working with the fans, working with this club, it became part of my life and I become really part of it as well and we cannot be separated. So this club means a lot to me and I’m continuing to support and continue to work very hard to get this club functioning in the right direction.”

Finally, there have been accusations against the Vice-President Abdullatif AlSaeed that he has been involved in picking the team that goes out on the pitch at times since his father’s investment in August 2023, especially during last season’s League One relegation. When asked about these accusations, Hussain AlSaeed said: “Well, I’ve heard that rumours and I’ve heard that the fans got to that information, but I can assure you that is not true.

Bristol Rovers executive vice president Abdullatif AlSaeed (left) recently spoke with the ‘GasCast’ podcast(Image: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)

Abdullatif does not pick the team and no manager would accept that. This is false. Abdullatif’s role is strategic for the club in terms of being sort of the person between the board and the manager. He makes sure that the manager has all the tools and all what he needs day-to-day in order to do the job. But that’s why we hired Ricky with 30 years, over 20 years of experience and Steve and plus all their assistants. So those [are] the ones who determine or decided which players that they need for the squad.”

Addressing sale and external investment rumours

Despite their investment into the club nearly two and a half years ago, there have been rumours during the past year that AlSaeed has been seeking external investment, as well as looking to sell the club, with a Dutch consortium linked. “No, that’s that’s not true at all. I’m happy to run Bristol Rovers since last October,” the chairman said.

“I have become 100% owner which I think the agreement with Wael [aL-Qadi] was supposed to be expired or to actually conclude in June 26 but we have expedite that because of the need of the cash injection and the further investment that needed maybe we go for the last year budget that is required and this is what made it conclude sooner and I don’t have any intention to selling the club as far as partners concerned. If we have legitimate or an expert that will come and join us, of course we welcome that, but we’re not seeking an investor at the moment.

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When asked about the story of a potential investment from a Dutch consortium, AlSaeed said: “Well, I don’t know if you can call it [a] story. It’s was an enquiry done by a Dutch broker who talked about bringing an investor, not him, but bringing an investor and that investor will bring Dutch players, legends to the club. Now the funny thing about this proposal is that he was seeking, the investor, seeking 25% of the club.

“However, he would like us to fund the club for the next three years. And he will manage the club. So it does not make any sense in any business model. I will not fund someone else who I don’t know what he will do in this situation and of course I did not accept it. Now I believe the same scenario has gone into other clubs and got rejected as well because it does not make any sense.”

Financial accounts for 2024/25

The club’s latest accounts for the financial year ending June 2025 were released just before Christmas, with Rovers recording a near £7m loss alongside their slide into League Two. Despite turnover rising to £8.1 million (up from £7.4m the previous year), with £5m from football income, and £3m from ‘other income’, the club saw their annual losses rise significantly from £5.3m to nearly £6.8m from July 2024 to 30th June 2025.

When asked about how the club will improve financially and reduce these losses in the future, AlSaeed said: “Well, we can’t say that we will eventually stop losing money at all. However, we can make a big reduction and this is what we did last year. If you can see that we have registered a big loss for the club, but that’s really [a] thing that was done in order to ease the future budget.

“We have made a lot of changes into the club. The club was depending on a lot of outsourcing and a lot of leasing equipment, leasing cars, leasing even gym equipment, were leased. So that is [a] very expensive process and the way to do it is really going forward was to purchase and that’s what we’ve done. We have brought financial outsourcing into our club. So we’ve taken these contracts away, which was costing us a lot of money. So we have now in-house for the finance, we have it for the media, we have it for the commercial side. We did not have existing commercial and now we have a department of commercial people who are seeking all that to help improve the revenue of the club, and at the same time, cut the expenses. Retail shop, we have improved the retail shop before it was again, it was outsourced. So all that work has been done last year in order to improve the budget going forward and I can tell you even though we are in the middle of the year, but we are looking at 40 to 50% reduction from last year’s budget.

“However we [are] still maintaining the top three or top four budget in League Two. So the sporting budget has not been affected, but it is the unnecessary spending on the other side that was really controlled. So this is what we’ll be looking for is this club to be in a position to sustain itself with minimal losses so that it can progress without really depending on a lot of the owner paying that much money every year.

“So this is what was our goal and that’s why you see a big amount of last year and you will see next year that it’s reduced by over 50%. On top of that as well or part of it is the loan that we have for the South Stand and that will be finished completely this May, this coming May. So the club will be debt-free. So all that adds to really strengthening the financial position of the club. So this is regarding why we have big losses last year.”

Long-term strategy

Finally, it’s evidently not gone as planned for AlSaeed so far during his ownership, but he was asked about his long-term vision for Rovers. Well, I mean the long-term vision has not changed,” he said when asked about the future of the Gas. “I think we still continue to look at two things, two sides. First of all, we have the infrastructure of the club and that we are taking it very seriously. That’s where we want to improve. That is the long-term. Of course, the current situation we have is the sports side and that’s where we’re also looking to improve by bringing experts like the first-team manager Steve Evans to to really do the work needed for the rest of this season, plus taking it forward. So it’s to improve in the sporting side, plus the infrastructure of the club. Those [are] the two main elements that we’re looking at.”

The last question saw AlSaeed asked about his ambitions for the club moving forward. He said: “Big, big ambition. Big ambition. But I have to say that it is not easy to really go on and say well, I want to do this and you can do it in a year or two. This is something that it’s going to take time, but with the fans support, with everybody together, I think we can really accomplish what we wanted to do for this club. This club deserves a better position than we are now in and we’re not happy about what we have at the moment.

“However, we’re going to keep working and keep working hard to really make that progress needed and would also like to thank the fans for their continuing support and with them we will accomplish what we have set for.”

OPINION

Hussain Al Saeed interview notebook: Bristol Rovers chairman on The Mem Redevelopment, Steve Evans, and long-term strategy

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