Vale assistant manager talks contracts
With the last match of the season fast approaching, Micky Adams and his staff are bracing themselves for one of the worst jobs in football – telling players they are no longer wanted.
The process is likely to start next week and Assistant Manager Mark Grew says he still doesn’t know who will be staying and who will be going.
He said: “We don’t know what is going to happen next week. I don’t worry about that until the final game of the season anyway.
“The gaffer is obviously going to have to sit down and talk to people and then we will make the decisions.
“People will be told they won’t be offered a new contract and if you enjoy that part of the job, there is something wrong with you.
“It is not a nice job. Probably the worst job in the world is telling the youth team because at 18 years of age that is hard one to swallow and I found that really hard.
“There are a lot of people who have been here for a long time and they are a bit like family, but that’s football.
“You have to get on with it and you have to progress. I have gone through it when I was a player – it is part and parcel of football.
“We have got a job to do. Our contracts run until the end of June and we will have to work until the end of June until something is offered. We are professional people and we will do it in a professional manner.”
One player who Grew, as a goalkeeping coach, knows well is Chris Neal. He has missed the final few games of the season, but Grew is hopeful the former Shrewsbury stopper will be here next term.
He said: “Whatever happens with Chris, we need an experienced ‘keeper anyway, but we know what Chris can do and it would be nice to get his contract secured.
“He has been consistent and that’s one thing about Chris, you don’t get two promotions if you are a poor ‘keeper, that’s for sure. It was great when he came here because we knew what he could do.
“Everybody I spoke to at Shrewsbury praised him and he hasn’t let anybody down. It is important to get him on a contract, but no more important than anybody else really.”