Port Vale announced the managerial appointment of Neil Aspin on Wednesday morning, meaning that the former Valiants player will be in the dugout as of Saturday when Grimsby Town travel to Burslem.
Hailed as a hero during his playing days at Vale Park, Aspin will be hoping to have a similar impact as manager following his departure from Gateshead.
With just days before his first fixture in charge, the new manager is looking forward to getting started. Speaking after being unveiled as first team manager, he admitted that it is ‘great to be back’ at the club.
“It has been a long time and I always hoped that I would come back at some stage in my career,” he said.
“There has been a lot of water under the bridge since I was here before, but it’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s something I want to get my teeth into, I know that it’s a big job, a difficult one. I’m here for the right reasons, because it’s a club I love and the supporters were great to me when I was here.
“I just want to do all I can now to get us away from the foot of the table.”
With over ten years of experience in non-league management, Aspin now steps into the Football League and he revealed that Vale attracted him to do just that.
He said: “The club has a special pull because I was here for ten years as a player. Any job in management is a risk and this is because I’m leaving a job to come in.
“You look across at managers and some don’t last very long, but it’s something I’ve aimed for ever since I left professional football and went into non-league, wanting to manage in the Football League.”