Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who played in the English Football League. He is the manager of club Port Vale. A box-to-box midfielder, Clarke began his career with Mansfield Town in 1995, where he spent the first six years of his career, making 173 league and cup appearances. In 2001, he transferred to Hartlepool United, where he spent another six years, making a further 136 appearances. He was sent out on loan to Stockport County, Port Vale, and Rochdale in the final years of his spell. In 2007, he left the professional game to sign for Salisbury City, before taking up the management position at the club in 2010. He led the club to promotion into the Conference Premier from the Southern League with two play-off final victories in three seasons. He was appointed manager of Bristol Rovers in March 2014, but could not prevent the club from dropping out of the English Football League. However, one year later, Clarke successfully guided Bristol Rovers back into the Football League after winning the 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final, and then went on to take the club into League One with promotion out of League Two in 2015–16. At the time of his departure in December 2018, he was the fourth-longest serving manager in the EFL. He was appointed manager at Walsall in May 2019 and left the club in February 2021 to manage League Two rivals Port Vale. He led the club to promotion with victory in the 2022 play-off final. Early and personal life Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Clarke stated that he was "brought up on a rough estate". His mother died in a car crash when Clarke was aged two and he and his brother, Wayne, were raised by his grandparents as his father was an alcoholic. His grandfather was a steward at Mansfield Town. Playing career Mansfield Town Clarke was an energetic box-to-box midfielder who had an eye for goal, though defending was his weakness. He started his career at Mansfield Town when he joined their youth set up at the age of just 10. He made his way through the ranks and was offered a professional contract at Field Mill by Andy King in 1995. Clarke made his first-team debut on 21 December 1996, coming on as a half-time substitute for Ben Sedgemore in a 2–1