A summary of Darrell Clarke's career so far after his appointment as Barnsley head coach.
– Clarke was a midfielder for his hometown club Mansfield Town, playing alongside Bobby Hassell who is now academy manager at Oakwell. He left the Stags in 2001 for Hartlepool United whom he helped to promotion into what is now League One in 2003, but later suffered a serious knee injury.
– After brief loans spells at Stockport County, Port Vale and Rochdale, he dropped into non-league football with Salisbury City where he spent six years, the final three as player/manager. He took over, having managed Portsmouth under eights, after Salisbury were relegated two divisions having been in administration.
– He won the Southern League in his first season, beating Hednesford Town on penalties in the final, and reached the FA Cup third round against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane while in the seventh tier. Clarke achieved another promotion from the Conference South in 2013, again winning on penalties in the play-off final against Dover Athletic.
– In the summer of 2013, Clarke was appointed assistant manager to League Two Bristol Rovers boss John Ward who, the following March, moved to director of football with Clarke becoming manager. His team needed a draw at home to his hometown club Mansfield on the final day of the season but lost and were relegated into non-league on goal difference.
– Clarke oversaw an immediate return to the EFL, winning the National League play-off final at Wembley – once again on penalties, this time against Grimsby Town. A second successive promotion from League Two followed the next season, thanks to a stoppage-time winner over Dagenham and Redbridge on the final day of the season.
– He reportedly turned down the chance to move to Leeds United after a meeting with then owner Massimo Cellino. He then led the Gas to tenth then 13th in League One before leaving in December 2018 following more than five years at the club.
– Clarke’s next job was at Walsall who had just been relegated into League Two. He was in charge during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, then moved to Port Vale in February 2021. Working with former Barnsley head coach David Flitcroft, who had been appointed Vale’s director of football a week earlier, he took them to promotion via the 2022 League Two play-off final – a 3-0 win over Mansfield. That was after the shock death of his daughter Ellie on Valentine’s Day, after which he took time off before a phased return for the promotion run-in. He was sacked the following April after a run of two wins in 18 games.
– In September of last year, Clarke took over at Cheltenham Town who had taken one point and not scored in their first ten games. He vastly improved their form and they would have stayed up on the final day if they had won at home to Stevenage but conceded in stoppage time and lost 2-1.
