Vale hope FA Cup run ignites league survival bid

Port Vale chief executive Matt Hancock hopes the club's run to the FA Cup quarter-finals can inspire a late charge for League One safety.

The Valiants are struggling at the foot of the third tier, but stunned Premier League Sunderland with a 1-0 victory on Sunday to reach the last eight of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history.

"To be brutally honest, the priority is League One," Hancock told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The way I'm looking at it, this is momentum. If we can build on the excitement and the togetherness, we're hoping we can win enough football games [to avoid relegation]."

Vale are currently 11 points adrift of safety in League One, but their cup exploits - which have seen them beat Championship side Bristol City as well as top-flight Sunderland, in the space of five days - mean they have three games in hand on some teams above them.

Hancock is hoping they can harness the good feeling sparked by their best FA Cup run since 1954, when they reached the semi-finals.

"It's been a tough season," he said. "We have found it really difficult to get results in League One.

"To give the fans a moment and a memory that they've not had for such a long time in the FA Cup is pretty special.

"It's been a really frustrating season on the pitch, but in our 150th anniversary year, to be in the quarter-finals for only the second time is something memorable."

Whatever the outcome of their league season, Vale's bid to improve their standing on and off the pitch will be helped by the boost in finances and profile that the run - and a big tie in the quarter-finals - will give them.

But Hancock said the bigger mark will be made emotionally.

"The reason I'm involved in football, and the reason the owners are involved in football, is the difference it makes in communities," he said. "It is the sense of belonging, and lifetime memories.

"Football is a tough industry. It's such a great moment for the volunteers. This is a chance for them to celebrate."