Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke pays tribute to Mansfield Town fans after play-off win

Darrell Clarke hugs Stags boss Nigel Clough at the final whistle (right)

Clarke took time away from the game following the death of his 18-year-old daughter, Ellie, back in February, and dedicated Saturday’s win to her following a fine display from his side.

And with the whole stadium rising as one to give a minute of applause in tribute to Clarke and his family, it was something the Vale boss was quick to acknowledge, as well as the emotion he showed in the closing stages of the game.

He said: “I’ve worked so hard over the last few days to control the emotions and then they all came out when we were nearly there and in a great position.

"It’s special, for my eldest daughter who I lost this year and my family that have gone through tough times like many other families, it felt like she was up there kicking every ball.

"Ellie was from Mansfield, she was Mansfield born and bred like myself, and for those Stags fans to do that touched me.

"I’ve got a great affinity with the club having been there from the ages of ten to 23 and have so much time for the football club and Nigel Clough and I hope they’ll bounce back and go up next season.

"But for them to do that for myself and my family, I’ll always be grateful. It’s certainly the most emotional win of my career given where I come from.

"The support I’ve had since Ellie died has been outstanding – the LMA in particular have been amazing as well as the football community as a whole.”

Clarke was pleased with his side’s display that saw them score twice in four first-half minutes before ex-Stag Mal Benning rounded the win off late on.

He said: “The group has been absolutely outstanding all season given what we’ve had to come through, so to pull in that performance in the manner we did was fantastic.

"Obviously the red card helped our situation but Mansfield never chucked in the towel and they kept going, but we saw it out quite comfortably and it was nice to get the third in the end.

"We had to be sure complacency didn’t creep in during the second-half but we did a professional job in the second-half.”