Spot-on recruitment is vital for Port Vale, says Andy Crosby

Andy Crosby says he’s prepared to bide his time in order to make sure he gets his recruitment right at Port Vale.

Crosby has replaced Darrell Clarke as Valiants boss and is currently preparing for his first season in charge of the League One club.

As his players returned for ‘pre-season testing’ yesterday, the 50-year-old spoke of the need to bring in the right personnel having been delighted to make midfielder Tom Sang his first recruit as boss.

“Recruitment is vital and so important,” he said. “If you get recruitment right, it stops a hell of a lot of problems further down the line on a daily basis.

“It’s something we are heavily focused on, as we have been for a number of months now. We managed to get our first signing in with Tom from Cardiff around 10 days ago.

“He is going to be really good for us. He’s professional with a real desire to improve and I think he will be a massive benefit to us.

“There’s a lot of work going off (behind the scenes). It’s been quiet so far for a number of clubs in terms of recruitment. They will all be doing the same thing, we are all talking to players and are trying to get the players we want as quickly as possible.”

Crosby added: “Our players returned for pre-season testing so pre-season starts as of now. And we are six-and-half weeks away from the first game of the season. So there’s a long time to go yet before that first game but obviously like every other manager you want your players in as quickly as you can.”

Crosby didn’t give a time-line of when he expects the next signing to be finalised.

He explained: “There’s so many variables when you try and bring in a player. You’ve identified who you want and then it’s a case of does that player want to come to Port Vale? Is his club prepared to let him go if he’s under contract? There’s a number of things. Then you start negotiating about wages etc so yes, there are obviously many things you have to get aligned before you can announce a signing.

“We got Tom done. He was my first signing and I’m delighted we got him on board. We’ve done a number of conversations with a number of players and we will see how things go.”

Standing still is not something Crosby has planned for next term and he added: “We are looking to progress on and off the pitch. As a newly-promoted team last season we achieved our main aim which was to stay in League One and we did that. We are now looking to grow and progress and be competitive in every single game.”

Crosby can empathise with the people of Stoke-on-Trent and Vale fans and wants them to know he and the players will care.

“I was born into a little mining village called Maltby, near Rotherham,” he explained. “My dad was a lorry driver and a miner and my mum worked in the local shops, so yes I’ve been brought up in a very similar area to this.

“They are working class people, they want to see hard work and graft and care and commitment towards the badge and the club.

“They are the people we are representing. Our fans will be here a lot longer than we are as employees of the club. And it’s important we represent them in the right way.

“I can guarantee we also care a hell of a lot as well and it does affect us. There may be one of two people who think that footballers and football managers don’t care enough but I can guarantee they do and that we are also very passionate about Port Vale as well.”