Vale's Debrah shaped by 'good, bad and ugly' of relegation

Jesse Debrah began his career on the books at Millwall and had several loan spells in non-league ahead of his move to Port Vale in August 2023

Port Vale defender Jesse Debrah says he has learned a lot from "the good, the bad and the ugly" of his first experience of League One and now feels much more comfortable in the division.

The 24-year-old joined Vale from National League side Halifax ahead of the 2023-24 season, the last time the Valiants were in the third tier.

But it was a season of struggle as Vale finished next to bottom and were relegated back to League Two.

After producing arguably his best performance of the season so far in the 2-0 win at Barnsley last Saturday - Vale's third league win in a row - Debrah says he is feeling a lot more at home.

"I did enjoy Saturday, it was a well-earned three points and I thought the whole team played well," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"All those chaotic experiences of the first time - the good, bad and ugly - it's all shaped me now to be able to deal with it better.

"There are certain things players are doing, and tendencies that I'm seeing, again that I think 'I've seen that before' and I think I'm now well equipped to deal with it so sometimes you do need the hard times."

Debrah got an immediate taste of those hard times two years ago when he was sent off 34 minutes into his full debut after receiving two yellows cards in a 3-0 defeat by Bristol Rovers.

He said the dismissal hit his confidence at the time but is now feeling like a different player.

"Since then I've come a long way and with persistence and [being] open to learning I feel like I'm better suited to dealing with League One football."

That confidence has also been illustrated in Debrah's adaptability across the back, where he was played on both sides of a back three and in the middle.

"It is different being in the middle; you are literally the last man until the goalkeeper so it's important you communicate and organise," he said.

"When I play in the middle, those have to go through the roof.

"I do believe I'm one of the leaders in the dressing room and I'm asking myself to lead and command even more which I'm happy to do and learn to do."

'Every time we play we feel like we're going to score'

Vale's recent run of good form has taken them up to 16th in the table ahead of Saturday's home game against Northampton.

Drebah says Vale boss Darren Moore has changed things up a bit since their 1-0 loss at Reading before their mini run of wins.

"Our prep has been slightly altered by the manager - he's been getting us more involved, more discussions before the game about what's expected of us, the team and groups of units which has helped," he said.

"I do think we've been playing reasonably well this season but just moments of lack of concentration or unforced errors, but the last three games we're happy with.

"Since our conversation at Reading, we got three wins on the bounce and it feels different.

"Every time we play I feel like we're going to score. We're in a good moment."