CLARKE: IT’S TIME TO COMPLETE OUR VALE MISSION
Valiants boss insists his squad will give everything to ensure club returns to League One
DARRELL Clarke will tell his Port Vale side to finish what they started as they try to complete an encouraging season by winning promotion through the play-offs.
The Vale are at Swindon Town tomorrow (noon) for the first leg of their League Two play-off semifinal before bringing the Robins back to Vale Park for the second leg on Thursday (7.45pm). The winners will be at Wembley on May 28 to take on whoever comes through the Mansfield v Northampton semi-final.
Clarke has been proud of his team’s performances over the season but says they can’t be satisfied with making the play-offs.
He said: “It is not about finishing in the play-offs and not finishing the job off. We want to go up through the play-offs, it is as simple as that.
“That is the mindset of me, my players and my staff and we are going to give it our best.
“We are going to give absolutely everything, as the boys have all season, and make sure we leave nothing out on the pitch.”
Vale reached the play-offs with a 1-0 win at Exeter last week, a result that denied the
Grecians the title.
They went into the game with an outside chance of automatic promotion, depending on other results, but instead go into the Swindon game on the back of an impressive performance.
Clarke says they can play better football than they did at promoted Exeter City but he couldn’t fault the resolve they showed to keep a clean sheet and ensure James Wilson’s first-half strike was enough to win.
He added: “It was one of those games where I just felt we needed to do what was needed. I never felt that any other result was going to go in our favour. This is not being disrespectful or negative, but I knew Bristol Rovers were going to beat Scunthorpe. There was nothing more certain.
“So, we had to programme the lads’ mindset to make sure we did the job, to make sure that we finished as high up the league as possible and win the game. “We did that. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t great without the ball. It was 10/10 without the ball and probably 3/10 with it. But we did what needed to be done.
“There was no over-celebrating in our changing room which is a good sign. The boys feel a little bit frustrated that we are not in the top three, which again is a good sign.
“Seventy eight points .... ’ifs’, ‘coulds’ and ‘maybes’, I suppose everybody can look at that. So, we try to do it now through the play-offs.” Clarke is giving nothing away about team news for the Swindon game but, assuming he plays, central defender Nathan Smith, pictured, will make his 300th appearance for the club.
The manager added: “Nathan has not changed since I have been in charge of the club, and probably to supporters he has never changed.
“I have never known him give less than 100 per cent in every training session and every game. That is why he is a fans’ favourite, you know what you are going to get out of Nathan Smith.
“We are trying to get him better, that is our job as a coaching team.
“He knows the areas we would like to see him improve, and he is getting better at that. Making 300 games is no mean feat so congratulations to Nathan – unless I don’t play him!”