Losing four of his first five games in charge, Gannon was forced to respond to criticism over his team selections and substitutions, and announced plans to expand the club's non-playing staff. On 1 February the players met with the Chairman and rumours spread that Gannon had 'lost the dressing room', as comparisons were made with the tenure of Brian Clough in "The Damned United". Yet the next day an O'Shea volley gave Vale a 1–0 win over promotion rivals Rotherham United to give Gannon his first win in charge at the club. However tension remained, as proven at the end of the month when it was reported that Gannon left the team bus on a pre-match journey after rowing with assistant manager Geoff Horsfield. Gannon had previously told the press his staff were 'underqualified', though insisted any changes would be 'implemented at a later stage' and that Horsfield was a 'great assistant'. It was later reported in the national media that Horsfield had requested a day off to deal with a family matter, Gannon then granted him permission but subsequently wrote a letter to the board complaining of his conduct. An unnamed director then handed the letter to Horsfield, who confronted Gannon over the issue, brandishing the letter as proof when Gannon denied its existence. This came on the same day that local paper "The Sentinel" ran an editorial that questioned his loan signings, his decision to drop Gary Roberts and branded his tactics and team selections as baffling. Having returned to the team to steer his side to a 2–1 victory over Aldershot, Gannon said "there's been misrepresentation in the media over my part in this. I'm completely the innocent party". The club informed Horsfield that he would face a disciplinary hearing, whilst Gannon would not be asked to defend his actions and would merely provide a witness statement. The club took no action, and after Horsfield spent two weeks at home the pair returned to work as before. He continued to exploit the loan market, signing Dominic Blizzard from Bristol Rovers, a midfielder who played under him at Stockport.