INTERVIEW

DARREN MOORE

The Port Vale gaffer on League Two promotion credentials, impossible comebacks and toppling Manchester United

Interview Ed McCambridge

• EFL

• NON-LEAGUE

• SCOTLAND

In your playing days, you won four top-flight promotions across spells with Bradford, West Bromwich Albion and Derby. Did you consider yourself something of an expert at going up?

When you achieve a few promotions, there is definitely a feeling you get used to – a trend to the season that you start to understand and appreciate better. You learn how to manage defeats, wins, your own emotions and how you push yourself. Younger players might be ecstatic about a win or crushed after a big loss, but when you’ve been there and done that, you know how to handle yourself. I always told my team-mates and I say it now: the way you played to get yourself into promotion contention is what matters. It’s about maintaining that and not getting spooked by the intensity of games or the media speculation. You’ve got there on merit, so stay calm and finish the job.