Sinnott ready for Leeds United face-off
Leeds United boss Gary McAllister counted himself fortunate that his summons to Elland Road in January was an invitation to manage a team who were already in good health.
"I'm joining a winning club," said McAllister on the night of his appointment. "When a manager is appointed late in January, it's usually to pick up the pieces of failure."
How Lee Sinnott must have smiled at that, aware himself of how right McAllister was. The majority of managerial appointments are brought on by crises and nowhere in League One have the pieces of failure been more widely scattered than at Vale Park.
Port Vale were 23rd in the division when the club chose Bonfire Night last year to name Sinnott as their manager, an apt date for the uncontrollable fireworks that have followed.
Sinnott was convinced to end his successful association with Farsley Celtic by the opportunity of working in the Football League, but he took Vale's offer with a level head.
The club were already expected to be relegated and that likelihood may be confirmed before the end of this month.
Shortly before Sinnott accepted the job, Vale's players were denounced by Mark Grew, their assistant boss, as "gutless and spineless".
Sinnott, in McAllister's words, was picking up the pieces.
The 42-year-old describes his first four months in the job as an education, which, after four wins from 26 matches, is a philosophical and diplomatic term.
The problems at Vale Park were not created by Sinnott, but it was always possible that his first role as a Football League manager would involve such a scenario.
While Leeds – Port Vale's visitors tomorrow – are stressing over the speed of their crawl towards the play-offs, Sinnott is already turning one eye towards next season.
Vale are 10 points from safety and, with nine games remaining, that margin is almost half of the total they have accumulated in seven months. Sinnott's education is coming from the school of hard knocks.
"If everything in the garden was rosy then I wouldn't have been given an opportunity by Port Vale," he said.
"I've learned a hell of a lot in the short time I've been here and it's been an education for me. I can see we've got a mountain to climb this season but there's a limit to how quickly you can turn an oil tanker around.
"We lost 3-0 to Leeds at Elland Road in December, and Dave Bassett was on the touchline that night. I remember him saying to me 'people expect you to walk in and wave a magic wand around but, in reality, it's not like that'.
"He's right, and it was reassuring to hear somebody with Dave's experience saying that.
"I've done a lot of thinking over the last four months and put a lot of time into working out how we'll get our feet back on the ground.
"Port Vale don't have the money that other clubs in this division are able to spend, but I'm not really interested in hearing about that. It's a bit of a Yorkshire phrase but, as a manager, you have to cut your cloth accordingly.
"My job is to recruit players within a certain budget who can perform to the standard I ask of them. If I moaned about money, I'd be ducking the issue and ignoring the parameters that are here. I know how the lands lies.
"In the same way, I'd be taking the easy way out if I said we don't have a good chance of beating Leeds tomorrow – because I know that we do."
Vale have two sources to draw inspiration from: their 2-0 victory over Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night and the news of Leeds losing to Cheltenham Town on the same evening, proof – if some were needed – that tomorrow's result at Vale Park is not a foregone conclusion.
Sinnott would prefer a more enlightening scenario to work on, but the nervous tension will be United's to cope with tomorrow against a team who have little left to lose.
Leeds wobbled badly against Cheltenham and a similar failure this weekend would ask pointed questions of their ability to handle the strain of the League One run-in.
Sinnott said: "Leeds are a good side – a very good side – but I felt our 3-0 defeat at Elland Road was a little harsh by the end. I'm not saying we were robbed, but I did think our performance was better than that.
"I get accused by some of our supporters of spinning the facts and glossing over inadequacies, but if that means I tell it as I see it then I'm guilty. There are times when our results have been harsh.
"We drew with Carlisle at home, and Walsall scored in the 93rd minute to nick a point from us here. I also thought we played well enough to beat Tranmere, and for an hour last month we were the better side against Swansea City.
"So I don't accept that we're not a competitive team.
"This is massive game for Port Vale, without a doubt. You're talking about the biggest team in the league coming to our place.
"I know that Leeds will be extremely keen to get the better of us, but I hope my players go out with the same attitude."
Sinnott has applied a long-term vision to his position at Vale Park, a luxury that McAllister is unable to afford himself having accepted a contract with Leeds until the summer with the order to achieve promotion before then.
United's manager felt a surge of impatience on Tuesday evening as a campaign which seemed to be running smoothly was derailed again, and realism has different connotations in different parts of the country.
In Leeds this weekend, it means competing for promotion; at Port Vale, it means preparing for League Two.
"It's some test for us," Sinnott conceded, "but a good one. It's like another step in my crash course of Football League management. We'll be ready."
YEP