Darrell Clarke insists he’s ready to “stand at the front of the pack” as the Port Vale manager returns to the dugout as manager this weekend for the first time in three months following a family bereavement
Iconic former Bristol Rovers manager Clarke took a leave of absence in February. He did return to work on March 30 but that had been to support interim Andy Crosby before taking hold of the reins again at the end of the season; a decision that has since been revised.
In his absence, Vale climbed to third in the table, five points clear of the chasing pack on Good Friday. But a run of three straight defeats has now left them on the outside looking in regarding automatic promotion. Port Vale travel to title-seeking Exeter City needing a win to make third, while hoping Northampton, Rovers and Mansfield are unable to take three points in their respective games.
Clarke has received messages of support from across the football spectrum, including a significant volume from Gasheads who still hold the 44-year-old in the highest of regard following his time with Rovers 2014-2018 in which he secured back-to-back promotions from the National League into League.
“First and foremost, I feel ready. I’d like to thank everybody for their love and support - the support I’ve had from the football club, Carol (Shanahan, owner), David Flitcroft (director of football) and the supporters who have been absolutely outstanding,” Clarke said.
“I feel ready to return and they’re my staff and my players so I’m ready to lead the group.
“I want to stand at the front of the pack. We pulled the group together and it’s been a we, a united front, and going into our last game of the season which we all know is a massive game. It’s up to us as a group to respond to that.
“That’s my character. I feel responsible but I wouldn’t be sat here if I didn’t think that I was ready because that wouldn’t be right for anybody. It’s not a results-based decision, it’s because I feel ready, and we need to make that crystal clear.
“I’ve managed in those situations before, I have plenty of experience in managing different scenarios, and so does my coaching team; we’ll be preparing our players as best as we possibly can for a mammoth task where we could end up in the automatics, we could end up in the play-offs or we could end up out of the play-offs.
“You have to get yourself off the canvas and I want to do my family proud.”
Clarke was, of course, in charge of Rovers when Lee Brown scored his famous late goal against Dagenham & Redbridge to secure the final automatic spot and promotion via goal difference in 2016; a similar scenario to which the Gas are facing against Scunthorpe on Saturday as they look to claw back a five-goal deficit on third-placed Northampton.
Depending on results, Port Vale could well prove to be opponents for Rovers in the play-offs, as could Ben Garner's Swindon Town.
Clarke’s focus is completely on turning around Vale’s ailing form which he claims is as much down to mental preparation and how they react to setbacks during a game, than their ability as a team.
“We’ve got to be a little bit honest: the players haven’t performed to the standards they can,” Clarke added. “Andy Crosby has done an unbelievable job, talented guy and he’s done great pulling everyone together and the way they’ve all handled my personal situation, I can’t thank them enough.
“It’s the mental side of the game. The boys are well prepared, I just think mentally, one or two things have gone against us in the last two or three games, and we haven’t responded as we should and made performances edgy and not on the front foot as much as we’d like.”
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