John Askey emphasised how key it is for the Vale to move on from last week’s disappointment and get straight back into winning ways.
The gaffer is looking to his squad for a big reaction after last weekend’s defeat, as he remains confident due to how well the team have performed so far this campaign, and believes the result will spur the side on as they look for another three points.
The Vale have responded to their previous two losses with a win and a comeback draw at home, and Askey sees no reason why the team cannot use the drive to bounce back and extend their unbeaten home run to seven games, as the Valiants continue to make Vale Park into a fortress and continue their climb up the league table.
Keeping in mind how well the team had been doing, with four games unbeaten before Macclesfield, is vital for the gaffer, with the drive for a Play-Off position very much in the forefront of the staff and player’s minds, with them all not allowing their heads to drop after one poor result.
He said: “Obviously we all know what happened at Macclesfield and it hurt, if it didn’t then there’s something wrong with the players, I think everybody was a bit shocked by it, but previous to that we hadn’t lost for four games, so we’ve not got to lose sight of that either.
“I think it was the fact that it was such a poor performance and we all knew that if we won then we’d be in and around the Play-Off’s so that’s why I think it hurt so much, but it’s one game and we move on and we’ve got a great chance again to progress and get up the league.
“Prior to Saturday, we’ve been doing well, we haven’t had too bad of a start, so there’s no need to all of a sudden think everything’s wrong because it isn’t so we’ve just got to get back to what we were doing.”
A standout part of the Valliant’s season so far has been their home form, where they have cemented a high standard of performances, going six games unbeaten and claiming all three points on four occasions at Vale Park, giving both Askey and his players confidence ahead of tomorrow’s match.
Saturday’s visitors Stevenage have a positive record at Vale Park, with a reputation of being physical and making games very difficult for the Valiants, with them winning 4-1 on their last visit, but that history is yet another thing firing up the team for the game, as they seek to get a result back over a challenging opposition.
The boss did make it clear that he knows how difficult of a clash it will be, as they have strong players and play attractive football, with a change in management bringing the side away from their previous actions on the field, but if the players work hard and play their football then they are more than capable of claiming all the points.
He said: “Every home game now we’re confident, we’ve got as good a record as anybody at home so we’ve got to go into Saturday’s game thinking we’ve got a great chance, but we’ve got to do what we’ve been doing, that is working really hard, getting the crowd behind us and then hopefully getting the three points.
“The last few performances they [Stevenage] have improved, they’ve got the players but now that the old manager’s gone I don’t think you’ll see the same antics as they got up to last season… they’ve changed and they’re not a bad outfit.
“Every game’s different, it’s about us performing and working really hard, doing what we’ve been doing, so that’s the message to the players, go out and express themselves and get back to what we were doing.”