Port Vale ended 2016 on a high securing three points against the visiting Chesterfield on Friday.
The win also saw Vale end their wretched run of six league games without a win.
Defender Ben Purkiss made his return from injury in the game, and he spoke exclusively to Valiant PlayerHD after the match about the teams performance: “I thought we showed excellent endeavor and enthusiasm, and we had some really good individual performances.”
He continued: “We were well organised as a unit in a 4-4-2. It took us five or ten minutes to settle initially; maybe we were a bit too enthusiastic with people running around a bit too much. But I thought once we settled in the game we were worth the win.”
The 32-year old returned from a long stint on the sideline through injury, and joked about the length of his injury: “The first 10 minutes I didn’t really know what I was doing, and my legs didn’t know what they were doing for the remaining 80 minutes.”
But on a serious note, Purkiss felt that he helped his teammates out: “I felt as if I grew into the game. I just wanted to be solid and talk to the people around me.
“Ryan Taylor, a highly experienced player took up some great positions in front which helped, the two central midfielders and Remie next to me were also good.
“They helped me along the way, and hopefully I helped them provide a bit of organisation. But on a fitness front, there is maybe a bit of work to do.”
The victory saw Vale end their poor league form as well as 2016 on a high, something that the defender hopes is the turning point for the club this season: “It is a great way to end 2016, and I don’t think anyone within the squad did themselves any harm today. I feel that the lads that came on did well also, Dan Turner and Kiko came on and put a shift in.”
Looking into the New Year, Vale face Oldham at Boundary Park in their next fixture. Purkiss outlines their goals going into the game: “When Oldham came here, I felt they were probably a bit unfortunate to go 2-1 down, and then they scored in the last minute, so it will be an even game. But we will go with the same enthusiasm and same endeavor to go for the three points.”