Micky looks ahead to the match against Rotherham united

Things seem to be running smoothly so far this season with the manager being able to announce the same starting eleven week after week and performances have been really good, but that brings with it more problems for the manager.

The eleven players who are in the side each week are obviously happy, but there are others on the sidelines who may feel they are missing out and who may feel they should be playing.

That is something boss Micky Adams acknowledges. He said: “That’s the hard part of being a football manager, the man management side is becoming increasingly difficult because whilst we think we have a decent squad, the ones on the fringes think they should be in the team.

“They understand that I am being loyal to the team at the moment because they are playing well and as long as that continues, we will stick to it and see how far it takes us.

“When you play together on a regular basis you get to know each other. There are four or five new faces in the squad that haven’t played together much, so they are developing understandings between each other.

Vale face a big test against promotion favourites Rotherham United here at Vale park on Saturday afternoon (kick off 3.00pm) and many feel it will be a good measure to see exactly how strong this side is.

That is something the manager is keen to play down. He knows that one match doesn’t make or break your season and there is still a long, long way to go before things are decided in the league.

“It won’t matter a jot really for the rest of the season because it’s only the fifth league game of a forty-six game season and whether we win it or lose it we haven’t achieved anything or lost anything by it.

“Everybody looks at Rotherham as the favourites to win the league and quite rightly so because they’ve had a big budget, moved into a new stadium, increased capacity and they have bought some good players, so it will be a good test for us, but as a marker, I’m not too sure.

“Rotherham are a big strong side and are very, very dangerous from set-pieces so the initial thing will be not to give silly free kicks away in and around the area.

Micky is asking his players to be more consistent in their home games this season and realises that could be the key to having a particularly good season.

He said: “We have always said we would like our home form to improve and if we can get that right and nick a few points away from home, then that gives you a chance of being successful.

“Yu are generally judged on your home performances because that’s when the majority of supporters come and see you play and they will form their own judgements, either on the team or on the players.

“If they see eleven lads on a regular basis going out there and performing, picking up points and not getting beat, then obviously they become more confident and that transmits itself to the players.