Port Vale react on being relegated to League Two following a 1-0 defeat to already promoted Cardiff on Wednesday night.
Cardiff continued their celebrations with Rubin Colwill getting the only goal of the game in a 79th minute header. It takes them to 88 points after 44 games played.
The Valiants, 23rd, however knew they needed to win to keep their survival hopes alive and went into the game unbeaten in their last 4 games.
But their one season stay in the third team came to an end, defeat leaving them with 39 points from 43 games played, 11 points from safety but with three games to go, three wins wouldn’t be enough.
🗣️ Jon Brady spoke to PVTV and BBC Radio Stoke following this evening’s defeat against Cardiff City.
Watch the full interview 👉 https://t.co/85JOjGdy1w#PVFC pic.twitter.com/DdiGBqEOxb
— Port Vale Football Club (@OfficialPVFC) April 22, 2026
Port Vale boss Jon Brady said, per The Standard: “It’s a bit raw at the moment and the reality is kicking in. It’s hard to take because we always had the belief we could survive,” said Brady, who came in as manager in January.
“Even tonight we played well against a side that are going to be a good Championship team next season. We contained them to one shot on target, but that’s the one they scored.
“We created a few good chances, but didn’t take them. To only score 33 goals in a season just isn’t good enough. You aren’t going to stay up scoring that few and that’s been our biggest problem.
“We have to reset and make sure we come back next season and challenge towards the top end of League Two. We’ll talk about what we need to do better.
“I’ve been in this position before and I know what it takes to come back. We have to roll up our sleeves and work hard.
“There are lessons to be learned from the top sides in this division like Cardiff, like the way they got back into shape so quickly when they lost the ball. We’ve got three games left to play and I want to overtake the team immediately above us.”
🗣️ We spoke to Ben Garrity following tonight’s defeat.
Watch the full interview with PVTV and BBC Radio Stoke 👉 https://t.co/85JOjGdy1w#PVFC pic.twitter.com/AIjyUjMTut
— Port Vale Football Club (@OfficialPVFC) April 22, 2026
Brady added: “Yeah, it takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, lot of organisation.
“It would make me, especially for the ownership group who, you know, Carol, she puts everything she can into this football club.
“She puts everything she can into the community to connect the community to the football club.
“And she’s a very proud person of what she’s done there. Or the family are. The family are very proud people.
“And I think, I think people within Burslem and surrounding areas, got to see what this, Shanahan family’s done for the area.
“You know, I’ve looked into the history. They’ve not told me, I’ve looked into the history. You know, the club was in big problems before they took over.
“And they’re, they wear their hearts on their sleeve and they give everything they can for the football club, the community.
“And they’ll be hurting. They’ll be hurting most, you know, and that’ll give me no more pride than to help this football club maintain its League One status, you know, over the next couple of seasons.
“And then if we can get there, sustain it. Sustain it. And they’re the lessons to be learned. Can we have a sustainable period where we go and compete?”
STATEMENT FROM PORT VALE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Dear Valiants,
Before we speak publicly, we want to speak to you directly and openly about where the club is and what you can expect going forwards.
First and foremost, we want to say that we understand and share the frustration and disappointment you’re feeling, after our relegation from League One was confirmed last night. All season, home and away, you’ve continued to show outstanding support and, put simply, we haven’t matched that often enough with our league performances on the pitch.
It hasn’t been the season any of us wanted or expected, and we take responsibility for that.
There’s a lot that remains strong within our football club, but we know that on the pitch, we have ultimately fallen short and have to improve. Our promise to you is that we will work to improve the club’s football structure and long-term plan; that’s our priority, and that is what we’re already focusing on ahead of next season.
That work has not been driven by this week’s outcome alone, but by recognising that we need to change things in order to build a stronger and more sustainable foundation for the future.
We have already spent time reviewing the operations of our football department and we will provide a full update that outlines the changes in due course. We will also give you further information on the significant investment into infrastructure to support the first-team, including the installation of a SIS pitch.
In the immediate term, our focus is on ensuring we have the right football structure in place to support better decision-making, finalising a thorough review of recruitment processes and squad development, and resetting standards and expectations across all areas of the football side of the club.
We’re determined to respond in the right way and understand that words alone won’t change how you feel today, but felt it was important to let you know how we’ll be tackling the challenge ahead going into next season.
We remain as committed as ever, and our responsibility now is to deliver through actions.
Jon Brady has already given us a renewed sense of purpose and belief since joining the club, and he will receive our full backing this summer to deliver a new era for Port Vale.
Thank you, Valiants, for your continued support. We’re extremely grateful to each and every one of you, and look forward to sharing more with you soon.
The Board of Directors
Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy said: “It was difficult to predict what level of performance we could reach tonight based on the euphoria that we felt on Saturday.
“I’m very pleased with the players that we managed to create a chance in the second half and play well enough to win.
“I really enjoy the feeling of what we’ve achieved, but when it comes to the games there is a real focus on playing really well and trying to win. That’s what our supporters expect and deserve.
“I hope we can get a huge following at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, and we can put on a great performance. I hope it can be a big party for all the players, families and all their friends.
“It’s very important that those people get a chance to spend as long as they want at the club on the pitch with their families after the game and really give something back to the people who’ve supported the players and myself.”
Fans react after Port Vale speak out on being relegated to League Two following defeat to already promoted Cardiff…
@jordan_yates_: Everybody at the top should be ashamed of themselves. Another catastrophic failure at L1 level. A plethora of awful decision-making, yet again.
@Aaron1529985: Can’t blame Brady, think we would have stayed up if we sacked Moore earlier.
@owd_79: The blame lies squarely at the board. Lessons should have been learned from the last relegation & they weren’t. Drop the loaners & put the likes of Shorrock, Lomax & Bussell in the team for the remaining games. Draw a line under this season, back Brady and go again next season.
@K_Shezzzz: Yep, exactly as JB has said so often; nowhere near the quality needed at this level. Time to clear out the dead wood, of which there is an awful lot.
@KarenPVFC: Did not learn from past experience. 😔 Good to see the improvement in mindset and effort since Brady came in however.
@beasleypvfc: Gave DM way to much time with very little evidence to suggest he would make it work! Different failure to our last league 1 exit in some ways but to similar in other. Need a good footballing brain at the top end of the club immediately to avoid it happening again! UTV ⚫️⚪️
@tomscott1996: The fact that no one learnt from the mistakes of the previous relegation is very concerning. All comes down to one thing we’re too nice! #pvfc
@SirSebastian20: Here’s a damning statistic, we’ve failed to score a single goal in more than half of the league games we’ve played and the season isn’t even over yet! 🙈🙈 Don’t think I’ve ever known a Vale team from any era to be as toothless as this one! This has to be rectified! #PVFC
@Dan240993: It’s been coming for a long time now the hierarchy should’ve sacked Moore after the Plymouth game in November but no they waited until after Christmas. The whole football structure needs to improve next season hopefully someone can come in and help with the recruitment. #PVFC
@bould02: I can honestly say, I’m glad that’s over. It’s been like a slow painful death. We have had a bit more fight these last couple of months though. We’ll be back 👊🤍🖤 #pvfc
@JayPVFC: This has been coming for a long time but it’s still really hard to take. Twice we’ve come up and made the same mistakes and gone back down as a result. Carol cares about Vale but we have to learn and fast. Fans won’t keep on forgiving the same mistakes. #PVFC
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