Winger reflects on 2022 ahead of final home game of the calendar year against Morecambe on Boxing Day.
- David Worrall | “I love this environment, working with the gaffer and his staff”
- Port Vale winger David Worrall previews League One clash with Morecambe on Boxing Day and reflects on a memorable 2022 at Vale Park
- Worrall: “It is a big day for the fans, we will have a good crowd and they will be loud as always and we know they will back us as long we give them something to back.”
Port Vale winger David Worrall says he loves coming into Vale Park every day and working in the environment created by manager Darrell Clarke and his staff.
Worrall is now over 550 games into his club career, of which 226 have come in his five-and-a-half seasons at Vale Park and he says the way in which the club is progressing – especially the club’s performance department – is creating a strong culture and environment in which he can hit his best levels.
“I love this environment, working with the staff and the gaffer,” Worrall said. “If I am not playing, the gaffer is the first to let me know and there is a lot of respect each way, you can see that in our relationship, with Cros [Andy Crosby] as well.
“I know where I am at, the gaffer knows where I am at, I am a fit lad. I know I am getting older but the gaffer plays me as he sees fit and knows I don’t have a problem.
“We can win one weekend and the team changes and I am fully on board with that and what the gaffer and his staff do.
“When you have that in football, the little things go a long way. The little things this club does for me and my family, I will always be grateful for.
“This pre-season, I was in the top three in the fitness tests so as long as that continues and my legs are alright, I’ll keep going.
“This is probably the only club where I haven’t had to manage my body myself; they do it before I even say something, they look at my stats in training and games and I can come in the next morning and be told I am staying indoors for a gym session. I have never had to voice my opinion on how my body is feeling, they already know before I have come into the building.
“I think everyone knows what they will get from me; I might not have the best game, week in and week out but I will run as much as I can and give everything I have got.”
Worrall said the Vale will be looking to end the year on a positive note by addressing performances at Bristol Rovers and Salford City when Morecambe visit Vale Park on Boxing Day.
The Vale’s resilience and ability to bounce back from defeats has been a highlight in 2022 and Worrall says that’s driven by the staff.
“It comes from the staff,” he added. “They say their piece after the game or the next day when we are in training, and then it is forgotten about and then the gameplan is all about the next project, as the staff call it.
“We are massive on that, forget about the last result and move on to the next one.
“This season in League One it is very strong with the teams in the division, the budgets they have, the players have spent a lot of their careers in the Championship, so it is a tough league. We have competed, held our own and aside from the last two games and Exeter away, we have done alright.”
On the visit of the Shrimps, Worrall is hoping a big Boxing Day crowd at Vale Park will help spur Clarke’s side on to victory.
“I am only thinking of Morecambe,” Worrall said. “It is a big game for us, we are at home and looking at the table, you’d think we would win but it won’t be that easy and we will work on the gameplan today and tomorrow, ready to hopefully get three points.
“We go into the game to win, on the front foot, like we have every game at home. It is a big day for the fans, we will have a good crowd and they will be loud as always and we know they will back us as long we give them something to back.”