Manager Gareth Ainsworth is relishing a return to his old club this Saturday as Gillingham look to crash Port Vale’s title hopes.
The Gills manager loved his time playing at Port Vale – a club that signed him for £500,000 and sold him for £2m – but on Saturday, his team will be hoping to scupper their League 2 championship aspirations.
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Vale are a point behind leaders Doncaster Rovers with one game left to play this weekend and there’s a capacity-crowd heading to the match for a thrilling end to the League 2 season.
Ainsworth said: “It’s the last game of the season, crunch time for a lot of teams, and we are in one of those games against Port Vale, a fantastic football club, a real big piece of my career and a place in my heart but I’ll be wanting to burst the bubble.
“They’ll know that, and they loved me because I was passionate, I gave everything. I’m going to give everything for my team, and hopefully we can give a surprise to the league because people will say Port Vale will probably get the title now they’ve got Gillingham, and hopefully they don’t beat us.
“Before the start of the game, I might be able to just go on and say, ‘well done’ to the fans and the team, because they have done fantastically well to get out of this league. At the end of the game, I’m hoping I need a police escort out, because we want to take the points.
“We’ll give everything but I know (Vale boss) Darren Moore, who’s a fantastic manager, by the way, and an even better human being, he’ll be giving everything for his team to get that championship.
“I was glad they got promoted (last week). I didn’t want to go there and do anything to damage their promotion hopes. Darren Moore is a good friend of mine.
League 2 table
“It’s between them and Doncaster (for the title) and it’s going to go right down to the wire, as a few leagues are and it’s nice to be involved in a game like this. It’s not a dead rubber, it’s a proper game.
“There’s something on it. I’ll find out a lot about my boys, because this will be a bit of a cauldron to go into but I want them to enjoy it, I want them to look around and soak it up and think, ‘one day’, you never know.
“It’s going to be a full house. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I want my boys to enjoy it, but absolutely go for the win because we’d love to finish the season unbeaten and on a high.
“I’ve heard we’re taking quite a few up there as well, a few hundred fans and some in fancy dress, which is brilliant.”
Vale will be presented with a trophy on Saturday, either a championship one or a runner-up award, and such has been the demand for tickets that they’ve opened up extra areas for home supporters, ensuring they will have their biggest crowd since March 1998.
Ainsworth was playing for Vale that day in front of almost 14,000 fans when they played rivals Stoke City in a Division 1 clash. Two weeks later Ainsworth scored the winner at Vale Park against Manchester City.
“Stoke-Vale derbies were something special,” he said.
“It’s a fantastic stadium with some really good people up there. Solid, working-class town.
“They love their football, they’re very respectful.
“Not many people get to say they scored the winner against Man City, but I have and it was a nice moment!
“I think they actually went down that season as well, along with Stoke, which the Port Vale fans were really happy about!”
