The top five contenders for the Port Vale managerial role

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Bruno Ribeiro

Morais’ name is not the only one to be linked to the post however. Former Leeds and Sheffield United midfielder Bruno Ribeiro, another good friend of Mourinho, is a name that has been mentioned regarding the Vale Park hot-seat also. The 40 year old is a close friend of the Special One and was reportedly linked to the vacant post at Cardiff City last summer. He was a teammate at the Blades of Michael Brown, who has recently been promoted to a coaching position at Port Vale by Norman Smurthwaite after two seasons as a player at the club.

Ribeiro made his managerial bow at Vitoria Setubal in Portugal, and has further experience with lower division sides Farense and Moura in his home country as well as Buglarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. He certainly fits the bill regarding his lack of experience as a manager in the UK, and if he were to take the position, as with Morais, it seems likely that the Chairman would opt to appoint a Head of Recruitment alongside him who knows the league to help bring in players. The possibility of links with Mourinho and Manchester United, with the possibility of taking United youngsters away on loan, may be a prospect exciting enough to tempt Smurthwaite’s hand.

However the reckoning of Mourinho’s man taking the position, whoever it may be, has single-handedly brewed up a storm of positivity, unseen at Vale Park in my memory since the year the club won promotion back to League One. With only nine-players currently under contract for next season, it has been much needed amongst the contingent of Valiants, with the recent news that last season’s top scorer Ajay Leitch-Smith, long-term Vale stalwart Louis Dodds, centre-half Richard Duffy and midfield star Michael O’Connor have all left the club, despite being offered new deals by outgoing manager Rob Page before he quit to join Northampton Town.

The news ties in also with Smurthwaite’s revelation in a video interview for the club’s website that of the many applications he had received for the job, three were apparently “outstanding”, one of them now thought to be that of Morais.

Discussing the candidates, Smurthwaite explained: “One has done everything in English football at every level. He has been out of the game a while but would bring us back to the Micky Adams era as far as process and discipline, and has done it.

“The second candidate is one who I was originally going to consider to appoint when Micky (Adams) left, but regrettably for us he was offered a job he just couldn’t turn down. He has excelled in that position.

“The third applicant is a guy who has never managed in the UK. He is extremely high profile and the references I have received, in the current climate of what’s happening in football, you would have thought it was a wind up.”