Darrell Clarke has dismissed claims that Bristol Rovers have ‘pushed the boat out’ in order to secure the signature of Jermaine Easter. Easter snubbed interest from a dozen Football League clubs to put pen-to-paper on an 18-month-deal at the Memorial Stadium on Monday only a matter of days after leaving Championship club Millwall by mutual consent. Clarke admits that Cardiff-born Easter’s desire to move back to his home town had played a major part in securing a deal that he labelled “sensible” and within the parameters of his playing budget, and he added: “I want to put the record straight." DC said: “I would like to reiterate that just because we have signed Jermaine it does not mean we are suddenly a club that is paying Championship-level wages. One of the main reasons we managed to get a player of Jermaine’s calibre is because he wanted to move back to Cardiff. I’m not papering over the cracks because we would have had no chance of beating off the dozen or so Football League clubs who also wanted to sign him if it wasn’t for that. I don’t want other players and clubs getting the wrong impression when we go in to the transfer market. We won’t be entertaining players who start asking for an extra £500 per week because they think we are pushing the boat out. Yes, we have brought Jermaine Easter in from a Championship club, but the deal we have done is within the parameters of the playing budget and a sensible one for the football club. We are doing things right in that area as a football club now and every player who comes here as long as I am the manager will do so for the right reasons and for the right money. Easter was also persuaded to come back as a result of a familiarity with Clarke as a result of time spent together at Hartlepool some years ago. It is good to have some familiarity and knowledge about a player before you sign him, but our relationship here is strictly a professional one. We used to live next door to each other in Hartlepool and we’d have a laugh and a joke, but friendships and relationships are put to one side when we get down to the serious business of what we are trying to achieve here. There are no guarantees with any signing you make, but what I am sure about is that Jermaine is here for the right reasons. The move back to Cardiff suits him, of course, but once he crosses the white line our supporters will be able to see for themselves that he is a winner.” http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Darrel...istol-Rovers/story-25862777-detail/story.html
