The Vale currently sit six points off a play-off spot heading into tomorrow's fixture, yet the gaffer stresses that he is not happy with mid-table even though his side are more than exceeding expectations.
With the club firmly in a relegation battle when Askey took over nearly a year ago, it’s safe to say the gaffer has turned the tide with the club now threatening the opposite side of the table, but still he admits he is not happy and wants to do better.
The Vale boss emphasises that progress has been made under is reign during the 11 months he’s been in charge, but he will not be satisfied until his side achieve something, whether that be next season or in the seasons to come.
He explains that his players should be aiming for the top and stresses that his side are not too far off as they have proven against the top teams in the division, but the gaffer is seeking an improvement in consistency.
“The main thing I think is that we’ve progressed this year, I’m still not happy I still want to do better and the players want to do better and we’re still pushing for that. Just because we lost one game on Tuesday doesn’t mean we’re out of it, it quickly changes, win again Saturday and it changes again.
“We’ve got to keep that going until the end of the season and until we mathematically can’t do anything, we’ll keep on going.
“I won’t be satisfied until we achieve something, I’m not satisfied with mid-table I want to do better, it might not be possible this season but you’ve still got to aim for the top and that’s how the players should be, and if we’re not winning games we’re not happy.
“It’s not far away as we’ve proven, we’ve proven that when we’ve played the top teams, we just need that bit more consistency."
With Askey looking to improve further on an already-impressive season, his play-off push has received a massive boost as the club have agreed a deal in principle with Nottingham Forest in order to keep Jake Taylor until the end of the season, with his initial loan deal due to end this week.
Taylor has scored seven goals from midfield this term and has really left a mark at Vale Park since his arrival, and the gaffer emphasises the importance of not losing him completely after the initial hopes of a permanent deal received a massive blow with Forest looking to extend his contract following his imposing stint at Vale thus far.
With two weeks left of the winter transfer window, Askey reveals that he is still looking to bring two or three more players to the club in order to liven things up as they look to gain further ground on the top-seven.
“The Jake Taylor situation, we’ve agreed a deal in principle with Forest to keep him until the end of the season, but obviously he is out injured until probably the end of Feb.
“With him doing well, Forest have seen that and now they think there is a real value to him, but I suppose it’s the best thing that we could have got other than a permanent.
“What we didn’t want to do is lose him completely because he has done well for us, it wouldn’t have looked great if we had lost him completely, but sometimes there’s nothing you can do.
“We’re looking to bring two or three in if we can because we’re looking to liven things up, you get to that stage of the season where players who have not been playing get a bit disheartened so they need to go out to get game time, and you bring new ones in obviously to freshen up and push those who have been playing."
lpl