Graeme Lee had this to say about former Hartlepool United teammate and current Port Vale boss after home defeat

Clarke was in attendance as Hartlepool United slipped to a narrow defeat against Port Vale with the former Pools midfielder continuing his phased return to duties at Vale Park following a close family bereavement.

Clarke again handed his duties for the day over to interim manager Andy Crosby and his team as the Valiant’s maintained their push for promotion to League One.

The visitors saw a marked improvement in their performance after the break and were able to claim the only goal of the game as Connor Hall powered home Jake Taylor’s fine cross at the back post to beat Huddersfield Town loanee Nicholas Bilokapic who was making his home debut.

And it was a touching moment at full-time, despite the defeat for Pools, as Clarke emerged onto the field to rapturous applause from the travelling supporters who chanted his name.

Clarke was keen to point the emphasis towards his staff and players who created a five point gap to fourth placed Northampton Town with this win.

And Lee believes Clarke’s emergence on the field at full-time can only be a positive moving forward.

“Thankfully I saw him before the game and gave him a bit of a wave and then when he came on the pitch I gave him a bit of a squeeze and it was just great to see him back involved,” Lee told The Mail.

“For Darrell to be here it can only be a positive for Darrell but it's a massive positive for Port Vale.”