Doug Loft and Adam Yates should be available for Boxing Day
Vale gaffer Micky Adams is not too downbeat after Saturday’s defeat and is preparing for the visit of Notts County and the return of two players from injury.
He said: “We can’t gloss over a performance like that but it happens and we have seen that before at Swindon away, but I was disappointed on Saturday.
“We never laid a glove on them, never got close to them, but it’s gone and we can’t dwell on it. The players have responded well in training this morning, we looked sharp and enthusiastic.
“I said to them, a little bit of enthusiasm on Boxing Day and next Sunday against Rotherham would be great, but it’s gone, we can’t get it back and we must move on to the next one.
“We have got a couple back from injury now. Doug Loft was close on Saturday but I chose not to involve him. He is going to be fit and available and Adam Yates looks as though he is fit and available so there are two bodies we have got to think about.
“The shirt is there, you give people an opportunity and I think that it would be wrong of me not to think seriously not to think about the team and the formation for Boxing Day.
“I will have considerable thought on it and I think it is fair to say, along with Chris Lines being suspended as well, we will make changes.
“I don’t think we lack the quality, we took the decision before the window closed not to add to the squad because we felt if everybody was fit and available we had enough to make changes if we needed to and that still applies.
“We have still got a number of bodies and we will get to January and have a look at it then.
Vale take on Notts County on Boxing Day and the gaffer has made sure the festivities have not put a dampener on Vale’s preparation for the game.
He said: “We have prepared in the right way. I said on Saturday we would be in on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day so nothing changes from that respect.
“We are paid to be professional and we are going to be and we need a response. The beauty of this set of players is whenever we have had a setback, we manage to understand what it has happened and try and put it right the next game and that’s what we are going to try to do against Notts County.
“Whilst I am disappointed and down in the mouth about Saturday I understand. I don’t think there was anybody who came out of the game on Saturday with any sort of credit – I thought they were better than us.
“But they are still two points behind us, so we must have done something right so far this season.
“We got MK Dons at a time when they had just gone to Wolves at Molineux in a big stadium there and passed them off the park and got a two-nil win, they looked confident, but we could have done better, but we have got an opportunity on Thursday to put it right.”