Vale'keeper more than happy with his back four

Chris Neal is more than happy with the way things are going from a defensive point of view recently and was content to take a point from Saturday’s game against Barnet, though he knows we could have taken all three.

The Vale goalkeeper said: “The way they set up to play meant it was always going to be difficult for us, they are scrapping for their lives.

“We have had some great results recently and we are a little bit disappointed because we could have nicked it at the end.

“To come away with a point is not a bad thing, but we could have gone on to take the three points.

“People tend to raise their game when you are top of the league and our expectations are high now, but we are going to keep our feet on the ground. We have still got to go away and graft like we have all season.

“It is disappointing to take just the one point from the game, but at the same time, that’s three clean sheets on the bounce and we are looking strong at the back.

The supporters have spoken highly of the former Shrewsbury ‘keeper since he first joined the club in the summer and he is quite pleased with his own performances so far.

He said: “My form has been pretty consistent throughout the season. I like to think there haven’t been too many blips and it’s nice to keep those clean sheets ticking over.

“The back four have been very consistent. It was obviously going to take a bit of time for the new lads to settle in, but I think they have done that and I think the results are showing that and from my personal point of view it can only be a positive thing for the team.

“We are up there for a reason, because we are a good team and we don’t need to fear anyone especially at home and if we can keep picking points up away from home.

“We don’t need to change anything. We just need to keep going about our business like we have been doing.”