Luke Joyce missed out on the defeat to Walsall on Saturday through suspension, and Dave Kevan is delighted to have him back and available for selection. Rhys Browne has also returned to training following illness, leaving the Vale assistant manager confident that the winger will also be available for the weekend.
Luke Joyce has played a pivotal role in the Port Vale midfield so far this season and proved to be a miss at the weekend, yet the midfielder is once again available for the trip to Crawley.
Dave Kevan emphasises that Joyce is very important in regards to how the Valiants want to play, and admits it will be a bonus to have him back in the side.
Rhys Browne returned to training yesterday following an illness that kept him out of the side on the weekend. Browne opened his Port Vale account last week when he scored the equaliser against Mansfield Town in the Leasing.com Trophy, and Kevan is hopeful the winger can put his illness behind him and get a run in the side.
“Luke is very important to us and to how we want to play, he is the ideal player for that particular role, and Luke probably does it better than anyone that we have at the club.
“It wasn’t just that on Saturday, there was other factors, things didn’t go our way and we underperformed to be quite honest, we were disappointed but obviously having Luke back is a big plus.
“Rhys [Browne] was back training yesterday, there’s a few bugs and viruses going around at the moment, but he’s back and was looking healthier yesterday, so hopefully he will be available to us for Saturday.
“We know he’s got ability, there is no question, he has been unfortunate with injuries and a lack of game time and consistency, hopefully he can put that illness behind him and he can get a run of games, and it’s up to him to perform."
The Vale travel to Crawley Town this Saturday looking to return to winning ways, and Kevan admits the squad are positive ahead of the match.
Vale’s assistant manager stresses that he has been happy with the side’s performances of late, and sees this weekend’s fixture an opportunity for three points.
However, Crawley have recently changed their manager due to an underwhelming run of form of form this season, and may approach this match differently to how they’ve set up previously, yet Kevan insists the Valiants will be well prepared.
"They’ve [Crawley] got a change of manager, so it will be a little bit new compared to what they have previously been doing, so we’ll have to take a look closely at their last game against Stevenage, we’ll be ready, and well prepared and hopefully well up for the game.
“It’s our next game so it’s our next opportunity, we will be going there positive, we are relatively happy with how we have been playing and the results we’ve been picking up.
"Obviously Saturday was a setback but now is the next one and that is our opportunity to get three points."