Mark Kennedy Could Be Set To Face City
Mark Kennedy could be facing the Imps before the end of the month as he emerges as the favourite for the vacant role at Port Vale.
Kennedy, sacked by the Imps in October, is reported to be the favourite to take over at Vale Park following Andy Crosby’s dismissal this week. With a touch of irony, he would also replace another former Imp, John Schofield, who was Crosby’s assistant and who has also left the club.
The Valiants are due to face City on February 23rd, and if they do have a new manager in place, it will mean their boss Darrell Clarke got the sack against City, and their new manager could be in place to make the Imps his first game. The two clubs have met this season during Tom Shaw’s reign as manager, and there were red cards aplenty, one for Paudie O’Connor, coming after loane Ollie Arblaster had been dismissed for the Valiants.
Kennedy would inherit a talented squad, boosted by several high-profile arrivals from divisions above. They added Jensen Weir, Alex Mighten and Dan Gore in the window, all solid captures for this level, but Crosby didn’t get a proper chance to work with his troops – he lost his job following the heavy home defeat against Fleetwood this weekend. Since then, things have got worse for Vale – they were beaten by Orient last night and tumbled into the bottom four courtesy of Reading’s surprise win at promotion-hunting Stevenage.
It’s the first major job that Kennedy has been tipped to take since leaving the Imps in October. On the field, Kennedy’s record stands up, and he ensured a midtable finish for us last season before starting this campaign in fine form. Injuries affected output through September and early October, resulting in him leaving the club after a controversial post-match interview following Danny Mandroiu’s red card against Burton Albion.
