Manager says the Vale have been working on how they can cause Sheffield Wednesday problems on Saturday ahead of return to Vale Park in front of biggest crowd of the season to date.
- Darrell Clarke | “These are the games you look forward to”
- Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke on Sheffield Wednesday, the Vale’s average attendance being at its highest rate in 1997/98 and how his side will look to use a good week of training to produce a strong performance on Saturday
- Clarke: “We currently have our highest average attendance for 25 years and Saturday should be a good atmosphere, good occasion and hopefully we will get the three points.”
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke says his staff and players are looking forward to their next challenge in League One as Sheffield Wednesday head to Burslem on Saturday, with the game set to be played in front of the club’s biggest crowd of the season to date.
“It has been a good week,” Clarke told the press on Friday morning. “It always is when you get a full week at it. The lads trained really well; they are a really good bunch and very professional in their work.
“There has been a buzz about the place for a while now; that is the environment and culture we create.
“It is nice to know we have a big game coming on Saturday, we should get a good attendance and big atmosphere so if you don’t look forward to those games, I don’t know what games you will [look forward to].
“We are massive on being a community-based football club and you can see now with the attendances; somebody said to me the other day it is currently the highest average attendance for 25 years. Saturday should be a good atmosphere, good occasion and hopefully we will get the three points.”
Darren Moore’s Owls missed out on promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt in last season’s League One Play-Offs, and Clarke says his side will need to be at their best to get a result against a side who have spent nine of their last ten seasons in the second tier.
“In every game we have a different game plan but there are consistencies within that, obviously,” Clarke explained.
“We respect Sheffield Wednesday as a club; they have a great manager and when I looked at it the other day I think nine of their starting XI against Wycombe [Wednesday’s last league fixture] had won promotion out of the Championship or League One, so they are an experienced team and know what it takes to be successful.
“There are all sorts of ways to try and win football matches; in an ideal world, we will be pressing high, winning the ball, looking after the ball and creating many opportunities.
“We need to be respectful of the fact the team we are playing against can hurt you and we need to make sure we are structured sound defensively.
“They are things we have been working on as well as working on how we cause them problems, which is something I am sure they will expect.
“It will be a tough test but, like we say, these are the games you look forward to.”