Fans can make the difference for us
Striker Tom Pope is under no illusion about the size of the task Vale face away to Chesterfield on Easter Monday, but says he sees no reason why Vale can’t win the remainder of their games.
He says: “A lot of people are saying they have got nothing to play for, but when you have got players such as Marc Richards, Danny Whittaker and Jay O’Shea they have players who want to prove a point.
“I am sure they have got players at the club who are out of contract at the end of the season who have got to keep pushing to try and convince the manager that they want a new contract at the club.
“Every game between now and the end of the season is going to be difficult and if we are not going to be up for it and put the effort in then we are going to get beat.
“If we can show plenty of enthusiasm in every game we play then I don’t see why we can’t win every game.”
Vale fans will travel into Derbyshire in their numbers and give the team great support, just as they have all season and Tom feels they can play a huge part.
He said: “We have got the best following in the league by a country mile. I think if you go off home attendances then look what percentage of fans go away from home, then it’s certainly a club that is bigger than League Two.
“You see clubs that come to Vale Park with forty fans and then you see Vale take over a thousand regularly on two-hour away journeys.
“They are a credit to the club. They never stop singing when they go away from home and the atmosphere is amazing.
“It is something we have got to try and do at home as well. I know it is tough and it is nail-biting stuff, but everything they can do to give us that lift, that extra per cent could be enough to help us get over the line.
“At Sheffield United in the Cup there were over three thousand fans in the away end and they never stopped singing and it gives you a tremendous feeling.
I think that is partly why our away form has been so good this season – we ave got a tremendous away following and they really get behind the team and never stop singing.
“I don’t know if that is the drink they have had on the way to the games or not, but certainly when you run out of the tunnel and see how many fans there are, it gives you a sense of pride and a sense that you want to impress and give them something to cheer about.”