She leads by example – David Flitcroft pays tribute to Carol Shanahan for “inclusive” Port Vale approach
Port Vale Director of Football David Flitcroft says the club’s chair Carol Shanahan leads by example as she inspires supporters, staff and players to “feel part of something”.
Flitcroft spoke exclusively to BBC Radio Stoke’s Phil Bowers about the club’s club’s recruitment and its plans for the future.
Making them feel good about themselves. That’s what the club does nowadays whether that’s a supporter, a member of staff, a player, those experiences are really important to our owner and she leads by example…
The Director of Football has managed a huge overhaul in playing staff, the coaching team and the way the club was perceived since taking part. He told Phil Bowers that it was a big job to undertake in the summer: “It was a difficult period. My biggest problem was the lack of investment (in the football side) over a long period…. We had to have a point of difference. The point of difference was the coaching team, the detail that we put into recruitment and that was massive. It was really important that we had something to sell.”
He also added that chair Carol Shanahan would often play a key role in the negotiations adding: “Having the owners we’ve got was probably something quite unique. (We could assure players that) your family would be looked after, your children would be looked after when you come to the games. I’d get Carol to speak to phone and she’s just brilliant at selling the football club and it’s not an oversell – it’s passionate, its compassionate and there’s a lot of empathy. It’s really important that people saw the new approach, the new Port Vale and the way we looked going forward not how it looked previous.”
Flitcroft says that the new approach will continue to pay dividends during this season and beyond. He said: “It’s settling well because we’ve got a very good structure in place with the manager, the support staff and some of the things he’s doing behind the scenes. It’s different, it’s inclusive and the players want to be a part of it. And that’s every player. If you’re not playing many games you’re still as inclusive as the players who have played ten games plus this season. And that’s down to all credit to the manager, the staff and again Carol and the board making people feel they want to be a part of something. Making them feel good about themselves. That’s what the club does nowadays whether that’s a supporter, a member of staff, a player, those experiences are really important to our owner and she leads by example.”
Flitcroft expanded on the club’s plans for the future which include revamping the club’s academy. He commented: “It’s no secret that the academy has not performed. We have to add competition underneath that first team. Over the next five years the academy has to produce players. It has to be financially viable. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
There are also plans for a new training ground with Flitcroft saying: “It’s ongoing. We’re exploring every avenue but we’re not rushing it.”
Listen to the whole interview on BBC Radio Stoke
You can listen to the complete interview with David Flitcroft through this link