Former Birmingham City and Millwall coach Paul Robinson has been added to Port Vale’s shortlist of possible replacements for Andy Crosby, according to the latest reports.
The Valiants have been on a dreadful run of form in recent weeks, winning just once in their previous nine outings. Following a dismal 3-0 defeat away at relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town on Saturday, the club announced that Crosby had been relieved of his duties after less than a year in the job at Vale Park.
Crosby was not the only person to leave the club when the news was announced on Monday as first-team coach David Dunn and assistant manager John Schofield also parted ways with Port Vale.
The academy trio of Will Ryder, Matt Done and Danny Lloyd have taken interim charge of the League One strugglers, guiding the side to a defeat at home against an in-form Leyton Orient on Tuesday night and are expected to be in the dugout once more later on today as the Staffordshire outfit face Stevenage.
The search has been ongoing to find a permanent successor for Crosby in the dugout as the club hope to stave off relegation back to League Two, having since dropped into the relegation zone after Reading’s win over Steve Evans’ Boro in midweek.
According to Football Insider, Port Vale have added Robinson to the shortlist of names. The 45-year-old had an esteemed career in English football, playing for seven seasons in the Premier League before retiring to work as a professional development coach with Birmingham City’s U23s and U18s.
Robinson was most recently part of Gary Rowett’s backroom staff at Millwall but left once new head coach Joe Edwards was appointed back in November and has been out of a job since. The outlet are claiming that Port Vale could offer the former defender his first managerial job in the men’s game.
Writer’s View
Robinson is undoubtedly an excellent coach and learned his trade at youth level with Birmingham City before joining his old boss Rowett at The Den in taking charge of the first-team. However, the appointment would be a risk given he has never been a manager before and would be walking into a very difficult situation.
Nevertheless, there have been examples of success stories in England’s third tier already this campaign where clubs have put inexperienced coaches in charge, such as John Mousinho at Portsmouth and Ruben Selles at Reading. Charlie Adam may even join this list if he keeps Fleetwood in the division. Perhaps it’s a risk worth taking by the Valiants.
Deputy Head of Writing
