Port Vale have made the difficult decision to part ways with manager Darrell Clarke following a winless seven-game run which has seen them slip into danger of relegation from League One. Clarke had guided Vale to promotion last season through the play-offs, beating Mansfield at Wembley, but his final match in charge ended in a 3-2 defeat in which the Valiants finished with nine men against 10-man Lincoln. This defeat leaves the Potteries side just six points clear of the relegation places with four games remaining, while fourth-from-bottom Cambridge United, in the final relegation spot, have a game in hand on Vale.
Assistant manager Andy Crosby has been named as Clarke’s interim replacement until the end of the season. Port Vale’s director of football David Flitcroft said that while the club had “immense gratitude” to Clarke for returning them to League One after a five-year absence, their run of two wins from 18 league games had demanded a change. Flitcroft stated that the club had discussed the situation with Clarke, the backroom staff and senior players and had decided that now was the best time to make a change and give themselves the best chance of retaining their League One status.
Port Vale co-owner Carol Shanahan said it was “difficult to part ways” with Clarke, but that they had agreed it was in the club’s best immediate and long-term interests to make a change. She wished Clarke all the best for his future endeavours. With four games remaining, Port Vale will be hoping that Andy Crosby can turn their fortunes around and help them retain their League One status.