DARRELL BACK TO LEAD VALIANTS IN DEVON DECIDER
Clarke returns to the Vale dug out as they look to maintain promotion ambitions on Exeter trip
DARRELL Clarke is returning to his role as Port Vale’s first-team manager and will lead the team at Exeter this afternoon.
The 44-year-old has been making a phased return from compassionate leave having suffered a close personal loss in February. He’s ready to make his return and has thanked the club and fans for their support while he has been away from the touchline.
Talking about his return, he said: “First and foremost I feel ready to do that. That’s the first thing. I would like to thank everybody for the love and support, the support I have had from the football club, from the board, Carol, David Flitcroft, and the supporters. They have been absolutely outstanding.
The main thing is I feel ready,
I feel ready to return.
They are my staff, they are my players. So,
I am ready to lead the group.”
He added: “I don’t really want to go into too much detail of my personal life, but I want to stand at the front. I want to stand at the front of the pack. We pulled this group together. It has always been a ‘we’, it has always been a united front.
“Going into the last game of the season at Exeter…..we all know it is a massive game and it is up to us as a group to respond to that. I am looking forward to it.”
Michael
Vale go into the final day of the regular season knowing they could end the day promoted, in the play-offs or missing out altogether. They have lost their last three games to leave themselves with only an outside chance of automatic promotion, but had won eight and drawn one of their nine games before that.
Clarke has paid tribute to his assistant Andy Crosby who has stood in as interim manager. He said: “Absolutely outstanding. I think we all have to be a little bit honest in that the last three games, the players haven’t performed to the standards they can. I haven’t felt that around the training ground. “Andy Crosby has done an unbelievable job. He is a talented guy. I think we work great together as a team and he has worked great pulling the troops together which was in unbelievable circumstances. I think the way the club, the supporters and everybody handled my personal situation…i can’t thank them enough for that. Crosser and my backroom team have done an outstanding job.”
A Vale win today would only be enough to clinch the third and final automatic promotion spot if Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Mansfield all fail to win. But a draw would secure a place in the play-offs and they could still make the play-offs with a defeat if Swindon fail to get a point at Walsall or Sutton fail to win at Harrogate. Exeter are already promoted but need a win to make certain of winning the league.
Clarke added: “I have managed in those situations before so I have got plenty of experience of managing different scenarios and so have my coaching team. We will be preparing our players as best we possibly can.
“We could end up in the automatic, we could end up in the play offs or we could end up out of the play-offs.
There are only going to be three scenarios after the game and we have to be prepared for all of them and make sure we prepare as best we possibly can, as we have done all season.”