WHEN Darrell Clarke faced the media in the aftermath of Bristol Rovers’ relegation from the Football League in May, 2014, he struggled to hold back the tears.

Two years later the emotions were different for the manager as the Gas celebrated a second successive promotion to head up to League One.

Such tales of redemption are rare in professional sport and it’s not often that the man who has had to ‘front up’ after defeats and disappointments is granted the opportunity to enjoy brighter times.

That’s the case for Kingsley Jones at Newport Gwent Dragons after the head coach was moved on by the Welsh Rugby Union with the new owners handing the reins to Bernard Jackman.

The governing body have opted to rip the plaster off quickly, bringing in an Irishman with a fresh approach, no preconceptions, no exposure to past failures and no demons.

It was just seven weeks ago that I spoke to a deflated Jones on the Myreside pitch after the Dragons had somehow lost a 20-3 lead with eight minutes left in Edinburgh to suffer a defeat that made it a whole season without success on the road.

I was still in shock, exasperated at how even the Dragons could manage such a loss, so goodness knows what was going through his mind.

That defeat happened before the vote by the Newport RFC shareholders that gave the green light for the takeover by the WRU and sale of Rodney Parade.

Players and staff said otherwise but it was a decision that loomed large for much of the second half of what was already a challenging season.

The Dragons didn’t win a single game after beating Enisei-STM in January, losing 12 in all competitions.

With a threadbare squad and confidence low, Jones’ men couldn’t halt a slide that ended with them finishing with just Zebre beneath them.

The former head coach has copped plenty of flak in his time at Rodney Parade, both when right-hand man to Lyn Jones and when calling the shots. In some ways he was the public face of others’ failures, bearing the brunt of supporters’ frustrations.

But in truth nobody has been given a fighting chance in the downward spiral since the last overseas boss – Australian Chris Anderson – in 2004/5, the last season that the Dragons finished in the top half of the league.

Paul Turner, Darren Edwards, Lyn Jones, Kingsley Jones have all tried to produce the goods on the field while having more than their fair share of battles off it with a cost-cutting regime.

The Dragons have got used to doing things on a shoestring budget with a board that has sapped the energy out of the organisation.

Talented internationals like Ian Gough, Rhys Thomas, Dan Lydiate, Luke Charteris, Aled Brew and, most damagingly, Taulupe Faletau have left along with promising coaches like Danny Wilson and Byron Hayward.

But there is hope of the culture changing now that the Union’s name is going above the door… and a change at the coaching helm was inevitable.

In some ways it would have been nice for Kingsley to get a crack at the job and drive the change aided by a more buoyant, can-do atmosphere.

But there is little room for romance in sport and the Union have moved swiftly with an appointment that immediately shows that things are changing. As Paul Turner said in yesterday’s Argus, it is a statement of intent by the WRU.

Not that one coaching appointment is going to suddenly turn the 2017/18 campaign from a battle for eight, ninth or tenth (hopefully not eleventh!) into a top-half tussle in the Guinness PRO12.

Jones would have had to endure another year that featured plenty of exasperated interviews after defeat. Jackman will now have that task of putting a positive spin on things.

The Dragons squad is thin and in need of some big additions to the pack. Just two signings have been made – former Wales and Lions fly-half/centre Gavin Henson and ex-Springboks full-back/wing/centre Zane Kirchner – and there aren’t many pennies left.

Jackman needs luck with injuries, a whole season from standout back Hallam Amos and breakthrough campaigns from prospects Leon Brown and Harri Keddie.

It’s likely to be a holding season while plans are put in action to grow in 2018/19 and there needs to be realism.

I was told that last summer the Dragons players held a pre-season meeting in which targets were set. A few eyebrows were raised when a senior figure said the aim should be ninth after finishing tenth the previous campaign and improving on four league wins. He proved to be a shrewd judge as even those meagre-but-realistic goals were not achieved.

So the task for Jackman, with the aid of the WRU and the likes of Geraint John, is to lay foundations for 2018.

The target must be to finish above the Italians and push an Edinburgh side rejuvenated by the arrival of Richard Cockerill hard. They must better four league wins and end the horrendous away streak that goes back to Treviso in March, 2015. A PRO12 derby win would be nice after two seasons of whitewashes.

Jackman should be helped by a mood of optimism when the season starts and all new coaches tend to profit from something of a bounce. The task will be to ensure that the inevitable defeats don’t put a pin in that hope.

For years we have been promised that brighter times lie ahead, that the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain.

Past coaches will listen enviously when Jackman says it because the former Ireland hooker will have more of a fighting chance.

It’s a new chapter for the Dragons, so a fresh start with a new coach rather than a shot at redemption for the old one was always on the cards.