Post by Cantankerous Gas on Sept 21, 2016 18:10:40 GMT
The introduction of GPS vests and yoga are the heady combination that Darrell Clarke is putting into practice as Bristol Rovers continue the process of shedding their traditional 'ragbag' tag.
The club has been famed for getting by on a shoestring but working in tandem with new owners Clarke is keen to add further layers of professionalism in a bid to achieve a long-term ambition of turning Rovers into a competitive Championship club.
He has started that process over the summer by adding several sports science specialists to his backroom staff in a bid to make the "marginal gains" that will narrow down the fine lines between winning and losing on the pitch as the owners continue strive for a new stadium and a new training ground.
Clarke has recruited gold standard chartered physiotherapist Keith Graham to head up a newly-formed medical department, while a strength and conditioning coach and a video and data analyst has also been added to his ever-growing staff.
"We need to have a proper coaching and backroom team too complement all of the other improvements we are making on the playing side of things," said Clarke.
"We are starting to get on a par with a lot of League One clubs in that regard. We had been a little bit left behind as a result of what happened when we dropped out of the league.
"There has only been myself, Marcus (Stewart), Steve (Yates) and Stuart (Naylor) over the last couple of seasons and we've had to spread ourselves thinly.
"You need more staff as you move through the levels and it is all about doing lots of little things to help us continue to make marginal gains over time.
"We are about to start using GPS vests and David Lloyd Health Club have been good enough to make some space available so that we can send the lads up there for yoga sessions every afternoon.
"The higher up the levels you go the finer the lines become between winning and losing. We're looking at everything to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to narrow those lines down."
The club has been famed for getting by on a shoestring but working in tandem with new owners Clarke is keen to add further layers of professionalism in a bid to achieve a long-term ambition of turning Rovers into a competitive Championship club.
He has started that process over the summer by adding several sports science specialists to his backroom staff in a bid to make the "marginal gains" that will narrow down the fine lines between winning and losing on the pitch as the owners continue strive for a new stadium and a new training ground.
Clarke has recruited gold standard chartered physiotherapist Keith Graham to head up a newly-formed medical department, while a strength and conditioning coach and a video and data analyst has also been added to his ever-growing staff.
"We need to have a proper coaching and backroom team too complement all of the other improvements we are making on the playing side of things," said Clarke.
"We are starting to get on a par with a lot of League One clubs in that regard. We had been a little bit left behind as a result of what happened when we dropped out of the league.
"There has only been myself, Marcus (Stewart), Steve (Yates) and Stuart (Naylor) over the last couple of seasons and we've had to spread ourselves thinly.
"You need more staff as you move through the levels and it is all about doing lots of little things to help us continue to make marginal gains over time.
"We are about to start using GPS vests and David Lloyd Health Club have been good enough to make some space available so that we can send the lads up there for yoga sessions every afternoon.
"The higher up the levels you go the finer the lines become between winning and losing. We're looking at everything to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to narrow those lines down."
