Ex-Sheffield United, Hull City and Charlton Athletic boss emerges as Port Vale candidate

Former Sheffield United and Hull City boss Nigel Adkins has emerged as an early contender for the Port Vale job. The 58-year-old has been out of the game since his departure from Charlton Athletic in October 2021 and he has since been weighing up his next move.

He is the second favourite for the vacancy at Vale Park at 8/1 behind the front runner Danny Cowley at 2/1 on BetVictor. His former assistant Andy Crosby, who has been placed in interim charge until the end of the season, is 10/1 followed by Karl Robinson at 12/1, Leam Richardson at 14/1 and David Artell at 16/1.

Adkins, who has also had spells at Scunthorpe United, Southampton and Reading, took the Sheffield United job back in 2015 and lasted only a single season at Bramall Lane. The Blades missed out on the play-offs in League One during his time there.

Hull lured the Birkenhead-born man up to East Yorkshire in 2017 and he did a steady job at the MKM Stadium. He kept the Tigers up in his first campaign and they then finished 13th in his second.

Port Vale have decided to part company with Darrell Clarke after their poor run of form and will be assessing their options. They were only promoted from League Two last year and are sat in 18th place, six points above the drop zone with four games left to play.