SHAMROCK ROVERS HAVE boosted their four-in-a-row chances by bringing Trevor Clarke back to Tallaght for the 2023 season.
Clarke, who represented Ireland at underage level and was capped by Stephen Kenny as an U21, returns to the Hoops on loan from Bristol Rovers.
The Dubliner spent four seasons with Shamrock Rovers before sealing a cross-channel move to Rotherham United in 2019.
But his time in English football was dogged by a succession of injuries which hampered his chances of regular first-team football.
He joined Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2021 and, although his future at the club was publicly rubbished by manager Joey Barton in August, Clarke did enough to play his way back into favour and made a further 14 appearances this season.
“We got speaking to Trevor the last few weeks and we were speaking to the club as well and thankfully we came to an agreement,” Rovers boss Stephen Bradley said of the returning wing back. “We’re delighted to get him in.
“We obviously know about Trevor’s attributes from before he left but I think now he’s a more mature player and a better all-round player.
“We feel that his pace and athleticism definitely add to the team and the group. We know his character and personality. If you spend 10 minutes with Trevor now, you see that he’s a more mature man than the one that left us. He’s a different man and, I believe, better for that.
“We’re a different team to the one Trevor left as well so all-round I think both parties are a different state than what they were when Trevor left the club.
“He’s hungry to be successful and I think that’s important. When he was here, he helped the group and the club at the start and when he left, we’ve been very successful.
“Trevor wants to be part of a group that’s successful and playing in Europe and obviously, he’ll have that opportunity here, if he works hard.”
Elsewhere Ireland U19 international Armstrong Oko-Flex has returned to West Ham after his season-long spell with Swansea was cut short.
He made 13 appearances for Swansea, including just a single start, since joining the Championship club in August.
