Boss plays down tonight's result, but admits the game is a big one
Micky Adams is philosophical about the outcome of tonight’s game here at Vale Park against fellow promotion contenders Burton Albion, but admits it is a big game for the club.
He said: “I don’t think a point is disastrous, three points is fantastic, a defeat is not the end of the world, but if I said it is not a big game I would look stupid and be talking foolish.
“I am aware of the enormity of the game – it’s a Staffordshire derby with hopefully a bigger than average crowd, it’s a night game and that produces its own unique atmosphere at the Vale and everybody is ready for it.
“The players are fully aware of what the occasion is. We have been crying out for games like this at Vale Park for a number of years.
“We probably missed out on promotion a couple of years ago because of me, and I have always put my hands in the air and said that.
“But I remember beating Shrewsbury here with eight and a half thousand in the ground and that was a special evening and there are still a few players here from that time that remember that.
“It is certainly not going to be a game that fazes us. We have seen a new-found resilience in us – we have come back from being a goal down in our last two games to get four points from the games.
“Mentally we are in a good state. Physically we are perhaps not as good as we should be, but I guess that is the same for everybody at this stage of the season.
“You are talking about forty or forty-one league games played, players looking to cross that points threshold that gets us promoted and looking forward to their holidays.
“What we can’t do is think too far ahead. It’s one game at a time and we have got to prepare correctly, which we have done.”
Vale have injury doubts over Jennison Myrie-Williams, Lee Hughes and Rob Taylor, and Ashley Vincent will not be in contention until next week’s game at Rochdale at the earliest.
The Vale boss said: “We have got some big players there that we could do with, but I am sure that each and every individual is desperate to get themselves fit and play a part in what hopefully will be a big season.
“Jennison took a lot of punishment at Chesterfield the other day – he got a lot of knocks and he is touch and go.
“Rob Taylor is another who is doubtful, with an Achilles problem, so in wide areas we are up against it a little bit to get people fit.
“If that is the case we will perhaps have to alter things a little bit with our shape and pick a side that hopefully can grind out a result against Burton Albion.”