Sproson: Those are the days you want as a pro footballer

PHIL Sproson was in a reflective mood after watching his beloved Port Vale earn promotion back to League One at the first attempt.

- Clive Youlton

The legendary Vale centre-back watched on at AFC Wimbledon with his BBC Radio Stoke punditry hat on and was a happy man after the final whistle.

“It was an emotional day for all Vale fans and everyone connected with the club,” said Sproson.

“I always thought Vale were better than Wimbledon. Wimbledon worked extremely hard in the first half and they shut Vale down and they did it very well. Ben Amos made a very good save late on in the first half to keep the Vale in it and prevent them going behind.

“It seems as though the manager [Darren Moore] got into them and in the second half there was more belief in midfield to push them forward and they actually did that. Rhys Walters and Jaheim Headley were instrumental in pushing Wimbledon back to their penalty box and I always thought Wimbledon’s three centre-backs struggled with pace and movement and we started to expose that.