Ex-Portsmouth pair reunited at League One rivals after former Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday man quits Arsenal role

A former Pompey favourite has been recruited by Port Vale in a bid to keep them in League One.

Lee Bradbury was named as the strugglers’ first-team coach on Friday as their new-look management set-up was unveiled.

It reunites him with ex-Blues team-mate Darren Moore, who took over at Vale Park mid-February - and is still searching for his maiden win.

The former Sheffield Wednesday boss has so far collected just one point from five matches in charge and been unable to halt their worrying slide.

Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Derby left them 22nd in League One and six points from safety, albeit with games in hand on sides positioned above.

Now he has turned to the 48-year-old Bradbury, who left his role as Arsenal’s Southern Area Talent ID Scout to link-up with the Valiants.

He joins a backroom consisting of assistant manager Wayne Jacobs, lead first-team coach Jamie Smith and goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh.

Bradbury has a wealth of coaching experience, managing Bournemouth in the Football League, steering the Hawks the two promotions, and, until August, was in charge at Eastleigh.

On the appointments, Moore told Port Vale’s official website: ‘I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to build my own coaching team here at Port Vale. I would like to thank the club for allowing me to recruit a strong team of people that I trust.

‘We are all familiar with how one another work having worked together and achieved success in the past. I know the qualities of each individual and exactly what they will bring to the club.

‘I look forward to working with them all once again. We are all working tirelessly to turn our current performances, form and results around.

Bradbury totalled 167 appearances and 46 goals over two spells at Fratton Park after initially joining from the Army.

It was during his second period when he met Moore, when Alan Ball signed the central defender from Bradford in November 1999.

Moore’s Blues debut against Crewe saw Bradbury also in the starting line-up, although the Fratton Park fixture ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Moore made 66 appearances, scoring twice, before departing for West Brom in September 2001.