NEIL ASPIN FACTFILE

Born: Gateshead 1965 (Age 52) Playing career: A left-back or centre-half, Aspin began his career as a trainee at Leeds and became the club’s secondyoungest player of all time (behind Peter Lorimer) when he made his debut aged 16 in 1982. He went on to make 244 appearances in seven years with the Whites, losing the 1987 play-off final to Charlton and an FA Cup semi-final against Coventry in the same season. He also won Leeds’ player of the year award in 1986. Aspin left to join Port Vale in 1989 and spent the next decade in the Potteries, winning two player-of-the-year awards, promotion to the First Division in 1994 and the Football League Trophy in 1993. After 432 appearances – the sixth highest in Vale history – he joined Darlington and was an everpresent in his two seasons, losing a third play-off final in 2000. Aspin finished his career as a player-coach at Harrogate Town, winning consecutive promotions from NPL Division One to Conference North. Managerial career: Appointed manager of Harrogate in 2004-05, he made the Conference North play-offs in 2005-06, losing to eventual winners Stafford in the final. That was followed by finishes of sixth, sixth and ninth before Aspin resigned to take charge of Halifax in April 2009. An NPL North title in year one was followed immediately by promotion to Conference North. And, though defeat to Gainsborough in the play-off semi-finals briefly halted momentum, 2012-13 brought play-off final victory over Brackley and a place in the Conference. In 2013-14, Halifax finished fifth, losing to Cambridge in the play-off semi-finals. Sacked in November 2015 amid a run of one win in ten games, Aspin joined Gateshead two months later and led the Heed to finishes of ninth and eighth. On October 4, Aspin was named manager of Port Vale.