In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, new Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke talks to Adam Bate about what motivates him to succeed as he tackles his biggest job in management – taking the Tykes back into the Championship…
Wednesday 7 August 2024 08:34, UK
Speak to many of Darrell Clarke's former players and they will tell you that man-management is the secret to his five career promotions. He is a motivator. It is a trait that is rooted in a regret from the new Barnsley head coach's own playing days.
Bobby Hassell, now Barnsley's academy manager, was a team-mate of Clarke's at Mansfield and noted recently that he could have gone further but for his love of a joke and a beer. Putting this to Clarke in his office at Oakwell, he adopts a more serious tone.
"I do class myself as a bit of a fraud as a player," Clarke tells Sky Sports. "That is probably part of the reason why I have done well at management. I know all the clues. I can spot when a player can be giving more on and off the pitch very, very easily.
"I have regrets in my career. I do not believe that I achieved everything that I was capable of achieving in the game. The good news for my players here is that I know that and I am not going to let them do the same because it is a regret that I live with.
"That can be a powerful tool when it is used in the right way to remind players that football is a short career. Maybe you should not go out for that drink or have that Kit Kat or that piece of pie. Maybe do everything as professionally as you can instead."
Clarke has worked his way up. Two promotions with Salisbury City were followed by two more at Bristol Rovers, lifting the club from the National League to League One. More recently, he helped take Port Vale into the third tier. But Barnsley is a different beast.
"It is a club that has spent most of its time in the Championship. I have always found that when you are managing clubs that have been higher up the pyramid, it comes with high expectations, which is great. I want to be at clubs that want to achieve success.
Is it the biggest club that he has managed? "It is a fair point. But I suppose I have got used to managing clubs that were probably lower down the pyramid than they would have liked, whether that is Bristol Rovers or Port Vale. That brings a certain pressure.
"When there are expectations to be higher in the pyramid, that is always going to weigh heavily on the head coach and the players. But that is something that we are prepared to handle. The aim straight away is for us to get promotion. It is as simple as that.
"I have not swerved away from it. That is the aim. I am not here to buy myself time. That is what I want. That is the message to the players and it is certainly the message that comes from the fans. We want to get out of this division as quickly as possible.
"I want to be at a club with that ambition. These are the best facilities that I have experienced by a country mile. It is difficult at some clubs because they do not have the resources but Barnsley gives me that platform to get a team out of League One."
Some feel that should have happened already. Barnsley were well placed for automatic promotion last season before a slump in the spring, losing out in the play-offs for a second year in a row. Striker Devante Cole has since departed and he was not alone.
"There have been a lot of changes, there always are at clubs, and we still need to do a bit more business," says Clarke. "But League One is a marathon not a sprint. It is 46 games with plenty of highs and lows. But the foundations are here to be successful."
He adds: "Goals have gone out of the team and we are looking to add reinforcements but I have massive belief in the players already here. It is a clean slate for everybody. One or two who thought the door was closed might not find it closed anymore."
Mladen Sormaz, former head of analytics at Leicester, is the sporting director. "He is a top operator who knows his stuff and understands the connection between the data and the man-management side." Together, they are finding a balance to the recruitment.
Georgie Gent has arrived, a 20-year-old left-back from Blackburn. "He is a good age. We are hoping that we can kick his career on and he can help us get to the Championship." But Sormaz has backed Clarke by bringing back Marc Roberts and Conor Hourihane too.
"It is very much data-driven but not just data-driven. I thought it was important that we brought in a couple of experienced players who know the club well. Then we can also go for a certain type of player who we can improve and hopefully make a decent profit on.
"The key is that these players are all hungry and are coming here for the right reasons. This is a working-class town and our fans expect a certain type of performance. That means 100 per cent every day, representing the shirt in a manner that fits our fan base."
Hourihane will be working as a player-coach, focusing a lot on individual work within the group. "He is first class." There is Jon Stead, brought in by his predecessor. "A hungry coach who is willing to learn." Martin Devaney has stayed on as assistant manager.
Clarke has brought only Dean Whitehead with him from his time at Port Vale. "I like to assess what I have in the building. You build new relationships and crack on. Martin knows the club and there is a good balance to the coaching staff. We are all aligned."
Not that he is one to get bogged down by style. "Everyone goes on about philosophies. It is the favourite buzzword, isn't it?" He wants his team to be adaptable. "Every game throws up different strengths and weaknesses. You have to combat it," he says.
"But we want to press, we want to counter-press, we want to be very good without the ball. Every team that succeeds in this division has that. This is a very athletic league and that means running forward, getting in people's faces and being aggressive.
"I know that sounds like the basics but you have to be able to run hard, to be aggressive in everything that we do. I have always prided myself on having teams that run through brick walls for me. Players feed off that and the fans get on the edge of their seat too."
Everything, it seems, comes back to man-management. Clarke talks passionately about "maximising players' individual performances" and "making sure everybody in the squad feels important" but the big question is how exactly he is able to achieve that?
"It takes communication, understanding, truthful one-on-one conversations, because there will be players who need an arm around them and players who you need to remind how to live their lives. That is not about the training pitch, it is about away from here.
"It is finding out about their background, their roots, their family situations, finding what is the driver for them. By that, I mean, what gets them out of bed in the morning? Where do they want to be? How can they get there? How can I help them to get there?"
A thought occurs. What is it that motivates the motivator? "Good question," he replies. "I am addicted to this job, to be honest with you. I am addicted to that feeling of winning. It is not a healthy addiction. It takes over your life," he adds.
"It is an addiction to helping young players. I call them my lads, my boys, do you know what I mean? So, I treat them a bit like sons. I get as much enjoyment from seeing them kick on and do well as anything else. I want them to get the most from their careers."
That regret from his own playing days still fuels him.
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