‘The FA Cup is special to me. It is going to be a really good test against Accrington’
PORT Vale manager Darrell Clarke spoke to the local media about matters on and off the pitch ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup first-round tie at home to Accrington Stanley.
Asking the questions were MATT SANDOZ of BBC Radio Stoke, MIKE BAGGALEY of the Sentinel and Stokeontrentlive, GEORGE ANDREWS of Hitmix Radio and JORDAN EDMONDS of Staffordshire University.
IS IT NICE TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK FROM THE LEAGUE? YOU ARE GOING WELL SO SOMETIMES YOU DON’T WANT THOSE BREAKS?
It doesn’t really feel like a break to me, to be honest with you. It is work as normal, it is another game.
I have a huge amount of respect for Accrington Stanley’s management team, and the job they have done, and for the club. They build things a different way and have had success. It goes to show there are different ways of achieving success in football, they are certainly a different model.
YES, THEY ARE PERHAPS PERCEIVED AS A SMALLER CLUB BUT IT GOES TO SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THE WHOLE CLUB PULLING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
Yes, certainly. John (Coleman) has epitomised that, hasn’t he, working there. He must be close to 700 or 800 games there.
We are looking forward to it, the FA Cup is special to me. We have prepared as well as we can, as we always do, and we are looking forward to the test.
AS ACCRINGTON STANLEY ARE A LEAGUE ONE CLUB, DO YOU LOOK AT THIS AS A GOOD BENCHMARK TO SEE WHERE YOUR TEAM ARE AT?
It’s an interesting tie, isn’t it, because we are probably the underdog with them being in the top half of League One. But also we are in a bit of form and we are looking forward to it. It is good for our players to test themselves against a League One team.
THE FANS ARE BUOYANT GIVEN THE RESULTS YOU’VE HAD. SO TO HAVE THAT HOME SUPPORT WILL BE BENEFICIAL?
Yes, huge. The fans have been magnificent since I have been here. They will hopefully be lively and buzzing and be our 12 th man which we always ask. We always ask for them to reset every game.
This is a cup game so hopefully it creates a good atmosphere.
THE CLUB HAS, I THINK, REACHED THE THIRD ROUND THREE TIMES IN THE LAST TEN
YEARS. YOU’D HAVE THOUGHT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER. RECENTLY, THERE HAS BEEN THE TRIP TO MANCHESTER CITY BUT, BY CONTRAST, LOSING TO KING’S LYNN LAST SEASON. THE FANS WOULD LOVE A CUP RUN AGAIN WOULDN’T THEY?
Yes, certainly. So would I. It is the beauty of the cup. You don’t know and I don’t like to look too much into the history of things. The competition resets every season, doesn’t it, so you need a bit of luck with the draw and a bit of luck along the way. Then anything can happen in the FA Cup, that is why it’s the world’s best cup competition for me.
IT CAN ALSO BRING IN REVENUE. AS YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR TEAM AND LOOKING TO KEEP IN THAT PROMOTION CHASE, A BIT OF EXTRA INCOME IN JANUARY WOULDN’T GO AMISS WOULD IT?
No, we’ll get you (Matt) some new gear as well if we get in the second round…
NOT THE SAME AS YOURS THOUGH!
No, that’s even worse!
Finances are important at any club. The cup competitions are there for all to see for prize money. As you said there about Man City away game and the revenue that can come into a football club.
But we have to come away from that. We have to just focus on our performance as we have in every single game this season. We have to make sure that is absolutely spot on.
Keep doing that and then the results take care of themselves – if the performance is good. That is what we are looking to do. We are looking to put on a good performance and hopefully get in the second round.
YOU’VE NOT HAD A MIDWEEK GAME SO HAVE HAD TIME TO REFLECT. YOU LOOK AT THE LAST TEN GAMES, AND EIGHT WINS, YOU AND YOUR BACKROOM TEAM MUST BE REALLY HAPPY WITH THAT?
Yes but we’re not getting carried away. I know I get a little bit heated after games but I think it is about controlling the environment.
We are here every single day and there is a lot of excitement around the place. That is for everybody else to enjoy. I am certainly not knocking that, because that is why there is a lot of love for the football club. They want to see the football club doing well.
But for me and my coaching staff and players, it is about just controlling that and making sure we are level headed - win, draw or lose games - and have consistency about our work and our goals and where we want to go and what we want to achieve this season.
I think that helps with controlling the excitement that is around the place with the great start we have had.
HAS IT BEEN NICE NOT TO HAVE A MIDWEEK GAME SO YOU CAN GET EVERYONE TOGETHER AND FOCUS ON SOME THINGS THAT PERHAPS YOU HAVE WANTED TO GO OVER IN MORE DETAIL?
Yes it is. It can be useful. We have done plenty of unit work this week and things we need to work on and get better at. We are continually doing that. But it’s been a positive week and we have one or two coming back who are hopefully not too far away.
So, the group is in a good place.
HAS ANYONE GIVEN YOU FOOD FOR THOUGHT? ARE PLAYERS REALLY PUSHING TO GET INTO THAT FIRST TEAM?
Yes they are. We have had a setback with Jamie Proctor unfortunately.
He is having a hernia operation today so we are disappointed with
that because it wasn’t caught on the first scan we had. Then there was still discomfort, he went in for the second one, and ultrasound scan, and we noticed he has a hernia problem. So, that is going to rule him out for two or three weeks.
Other than that, Ryan (Johnson) and Hursty (Alex Hurst) are getting back on the grass and doing light work.
Leon Legge has trained his first two or three days full days properly. That is a boost.
Devante Rodney is an ongoing issue (he has a heel injury) but we are hoping to get to the bottom of that, so will see how we are. But the group is in a really vibrant, good place at the minute and we want to try to continue our for.
IS IT A CASE OF CAREFULLY MANAGING LEON OR DO YOU HAVE A TARGET IN MIND FOR WHEN YOU COULD HAVE HIM BACK IN THE FOLD?
He is such a model pro - hammer head will be itching to head those balls away and do what he does very well!
It is great to have him back in training, I can’t speak highly enough of Leon Legge as a professional. He is 36 but the way he conducts himself……most lads when they are injured for a long period of time maybe put on a bit of weight. Not Leggey, he has lost weight, he has slimmed himself up and done some really good hours in the gym.
These senior, model pros are what I talk about being in and around football clubs and vital for my changing room.
HOW MANY WEEKS DO YOU THINK IT COULD BE BEFORE HE IS IN CONTENTION?
He will be on the bench tomorrow. We have nine subs. He might play a bit of a part in the Tuesday night game but he can only do that because he has looked after himself through his injury.
That is what I am talking about being professional. Leon Legge epitomises that.
HOW PLEASED ARE YOU WITH FITNESS LEVELS?
We pride ourselves on the work we do. That is why I have good staff.
You bring players into a football club but the most important thing for me is getting the backroom team absolutely spot on. I think some teams cut corners in that aspect. We don’t here which is testament to the owners. It is so crucial that is spot on because it enables everything to run right and professionally.
I have a great backroom team that is doing a fantastic job and deserves a lot of plaudits for that – for players’ fitness levels and making sure they come in primed and fit.
AND YOU CAN ONLY PICK 11 BUT THE PLAYERS ALL SEEM TO BE BUYING INTO IT?
George, the door is there if they are not. It is as simple as that.
There are non-negotiables on that. Players are professionals and they have to be like this. If they are not then we are on their cases.
That is the way it has to be, but credit to the players. They do it well and right but they are the nonnegotiables for me and my staff.
DO YOU THINK THE FA CUP HAS LOST ANY OF ITS GLAMOUR BECAUSE WHEN WE HIT THE THIRD ROUND WE SEE, PARTICULARLY THE BIG CLUBS, REDUCING THEIR TEAMS?
No, I don’t think it has. I think you have to be respectful of those big teams. They have an awful lot of games and have big squads. With their squad, it is not just the eleven. They are still massive names playing even if they are in the early rounds and they don’t go full strength.
You see how much it means to the big teams and the clubs when they are at Wembley and lifting the cup. So, I don’t think it has lost it at all.
I think the press try to make more of that than it possibly is. What’s the point of just having eleven players when the big guns are in the Champions League and Europe, have a massive league programme and internationals? They have every right to mix their teams up.
HOW’S DAVE WORRALL, HAS HE BEEN ABLE TO TRAIN? (after missing the win at Crawley through illness).
Yes, he has Mike, yes. Wozza is fine for tomorrow.
WITH ACCRINGTON BEING IN LEAGUE ONE, IS THIS A PERFECT TEST FOR YOUR TEAM?
It’s a good test. We are playing a team that are doing well in League One, punching well above their weight as always. So, it is a good test for the players to match up against League One players.