How Port Vale's wage bill compares to the rest of League Two as Darren Moore eyes title | OneFootball

We looked at how Port Vale's wage bill compares to the rest of League Two as they continue their push for the title.

It is set to be an exciting end to the season for Port Vale in League Two as they look to achieve automatic promotion.

Port Vale were relegated from League One last season after just two years in the division, and manager Darren Moore was unable to turn around their fortunes after replacing Andy Crosby in February.

Having been sacked by Championship side Huddersfield Town just weeks earlier, the appointment of Moore was seen as something of a coup for the Valiants, but he could not prevent them from dropping back into League Two after winning just two of his first 17 games in charge.

As Vale were already in a perilous position when Moore arrived, it would have been unfair to place too much of the blame on him for the club's relegation, and owner Carol Shanahan has certainly been rewarded for sticking with the 50-year-old.

Darren Moore will be hoping to lead Port Vale to the League Two title

Just as he did at Sheffield Wednesday earlier in his managerial career, Moore used his pulling power to help rebuild the Vale squad in the summer following relegation, bringing in a host of eye-catching signings, including the likes of Ben Amos, Connor Hall, Ryan Croasdale, George Byers, Ronan Curtis, Jayden Stockley and Lorent Tolaj.

After taking a little time to gel, the Valiants' new-look team quickly emerged as a serious force in League Two, and they spent many of the early months of the season sitting top of the table.

An eight-game winless run between November and January threatened to derail Vale's campaign, and Moore came under some pressure from supporters who were unhappy with his style of football, but he has managed to get his side back on track in recent months.

After a run of five wins in six games, which has included back-to-back victories over fellow automatic promotion hopefuls Bradford City and Walsall in their last two matches, has moved the Valiants up to second in the table, and they are currently three points clear of fourth-placed Doncaster Rovers, but Grant McCann's men do have a game in hand.

With just five games remaining and a relatively favourable fixture list that features games against mid-table Bromley and Gillingham and bottom side Carlisle United, Vale will be optimistic that they can secure an immediate return to League One over the coming weeks.

As their promotion push continues, we looked at how the Valiants' wage bill compares to their League Two rivals.

Vale were widely tipped to win promotion from League Two at the start of the season, and many believe that their squad is the strongest in the division, but their wage bill does not quite reflect that.

According to Capology, the Valiants only have the 13th-highest payroll in the fourth tier, with a weekly wage bill of £70,108 and an annual wage bill of £3,645,600, although it should be stressed that those figures are an estimate.

Despite being eight points from safety at the bottom of the table and looking destined to suffer back-to-back relegations, Carlisle are believed to have the biggest wage bill in League Two, paying a staggering £104,212 per week to their squad, while fellow underachievers MK Dons, who have slid down to 19th after a dismal second half of the campaign, are next on the list, with a weekly payroll of £97,750.

League leaders Bradford City (£93,012 per week) and play-off hopefuls Salford City (£87,950 per week) and Chesterfield (£85,050 per week) complete the top five, and those numbers underline just how impressive Moore's recruitment at Vale has been to assemble arguably the most talented squad in the league while working with a mid-table wage budget.

Accrington Stanley, who sit just one place above the relegation zone, are estimated to have the lowest weekly payroll in League Two at just £39,727, followed by Bromley (£44,250 per week), Harrogate Town (£47,577 per week), Newport County (£48,258 per week) and Crewe Alexandra (£52,050 per week).