Another good sign that the boss won't be held to ransom over wage demands. There's an offer on the table for what he thinks they're worth and you either take it or move on.
The lack of transfer activity is now becoming a worry.
You worry too much.
www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-Darrell-Clarke-taking-time-land/story-26752135-detail/story.html?Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke is expecting a flurry of transfer activity to begin once his squad reconvenes for pre-season training on July 2.
Clarke is looking for at least four players to add to his squad before the start of the season on August 8 –but has only managed to capture the signature of Woking right-back James Clarke so far this summer.
Rovers currently have only 15 contracted senior players along with youngsters Jamie Lucas and Danny Greenslade, who are both expected to be given a chance to stake their claims for regular places in the squad after successful loan spells elsewhere last season.
That group could be joined by goalkeeper Will Puddy, who has been offered a new deal, and defender Neal Trotman, who has been given the chance to come back and prove his fitness, if they decide to take the offers that are currently on the table.
Clarke said: “I’m not a manager to panic or get worked up about it because there are a lot of players available, but the good ones cost money.
“I’m being very thorough in trying to get the right players because I know that a manager lives and dies by his recruitment.
“We have been doing a lot of talking with agents as is usual at this time of year, but we have to be careful not to rush in and then fail to get the right players.
“We have brought in James Clarke already, but I would imagine the majority of our business would be done at the back end of June through the first couple of weeks in July.”
Widemen remain high on Clarke’s list of priorities following the departures of Andy Monkhouse, Angelo Balanta and Abdullai Baggie in the last seven days.
Rovers are also believed to be in talks with Port Vale over the possibility of signing Chris Lines on a permanent deal to bolster the centre of midfield, while another goalkeeper and even possibly an additional striker are not out of the question.
January transfer window signing Jermaine Easter is making good progress in his rehabilitation from a knee injury and is expected to be fit in time for the start of pre-season, and Clarke added: “We also have Ellis (Harrison), Nathan (Blissett) and Matty (Taylor).
“We’ll see how that goes but you can never have too many strikers and I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of bringing another one in at some point. Everything comes down to finances and where we are as a football club at the end of the day.
“We are still waiting on a decision regards the court case with Sainsbury’s, which is very important for this football club, so we have to be patient with things and deal with them as they come along.”
Clarke, meanwhile, has been pleased to receive reports that several members of his promotion-winning squad have been keeping themselves in shape before they report back for training.
“You can’t treat the players like little kids so to hear that they are working hard away from the club off of their own backs has been encouraging,” said Clarke.
“I’ve actually had to be in contact with one or two to tell them that I don’t want them over-doing it. We will be doing a lot of hard physical work in the coming weeks and I want to avoid the possibility of any burnout. It is important they get the balance right.”
Rovers, meanwhile, have announced that the League Two fixture against Cambridge United at the Memorial Stadium scheduled to be played on Saturday March 26, 2016 will now take place 24 hours earlier on Good Friday (3pm).