CAROL’S VALE QUEST
Shanahan determined to bring the good times back after relegation woe
CAROL Shanahan says she is optimistic about Port Vale’s future as they look to launch a promotion challenge next season.
The Valiants were relegated from League One this year to bring an end to their two-season stint in the third tier.
However, club owner Shanahan believes that lessons will be learned and that manager Darren Moore can provide a bright future.
“We know what promotion feels like, we like it, we want to feel it again,” she said.
“We know what relegation feels like, we hate it, we never want to feel it again. That really sums it up.
“You’ve seen clubs get promoted this year not just by spending money but by being very clever about how they’ve done it.
“Also how they’ve built the club over time and I think that’s what we’ve got to do. With Darren [Moore, manager] and Matt [Hancock, CEO] we can do that.
“We can really build the club and build it solidly.
“And what has been proven in the first two years [of League One] is we haven’t built it solidly enough. Next time we will.”
Shanahan has received plenty of criticism on social media from fans over the course of the season.
She added: “I’ve taken a real pounding on social media, and it does hurt, even though you know they don’t know you as a person, it’s not you as a person, but it still hurts.
“It’s the same for players, for managers, for owners, or anybody that’s in the public eye, it’s very easy to forget they are people too.
“I’ve learned a lot this year in how to protect myself and how to look after myself.
“My nan used to say ‘take no notice’ and I’ve had to do that. But it’s knowing when to take notice and when not to because you don’t want to dismiss everything.
“There’s some good information and good learning in there and people have some good opinions and ideas.
“But then for some it’s just very negative.”
Shanahan is now looking to help to revive the club’s fortunes on the pitch as they look to mount an immediate return.
And she says it’s important for supporters to get excited about trips to Vale Park after a hugely disappointing campaign for the club, which saw Moore unable to save the club from the drop after replacing Andy Crosby as the Valiants’ manager.
She said: “It will be nice to win matches. I know the fans have really struggled and I feel for the fans.
“I’ve found it difficult to go to some matches so I know that they have too. What I want and I know the fans want is to feel excited. To feel ‘oh wow it’s matchday, come on let’s go’ not, ‘oh no it’s matchday.’
“So it’s making matchdays days we look forward to and enjoy and to do that we’ve got to win matches.
“To win games we’ve got to have the right manager which I believe, in Darren, we have.
“We need to support him and we are, and not get in his way. Then it’s up to 11 men to kick a ball and get it into a wretched net.”