But Adam Yates has feet firmly on the ground

Like everybody connected with the club, defender Adam Yates is happy with the start the team have had to the season, but he has his feet firmly on the ground and knows that success this term is staying in League One.

Vale's recent form has impressed many and has seen Vale up into ninth place, but we are at the end of October and there is a long way to go yet.

Yates says: “I think we have been playing well for a number of weeks now without getting our rewards really. I think anybody who has come to the game, particularly against Peterborough will know that.

“I thought we deserved to get something from that game – we’ve played well without picking up a massive number of points.

“The gaffer said ahead of the Crawley game that if we carry on the form that we were in we were going to put on a good performance and pick up the points, whereas we had been just putting on good performances.

“We defended well at Crawley, we made a lot of chances without them really looking like scoring, so it’s pleasing as player, certainly as a Port Vale fan.

“I’m sure the fans will be happy with the way we have started the season and particularly happy with the way that we are set up in the league.

"We have got good confidence in the dressing room now, but we have come into this league and have been punished for errors we have made where we wouldn’t have been punished last year.

“But we have given a good account of ourselves and I think any team that comes up and gets over the first few hurdles and then looks and sees themselves in ninth spot are going to be happy.

“Going into November we have certainly impressed a lot of people who have watched us and a lot of people who doubted us, but we have still got a long way to go.

“I think a good season for us is staying up, I think a particularly good season for us is a top half finish and anything after that is a massive, massive bonus.

“If we get to fifty points and then don’t pick up another point, we have had a good season as far as I am concerned.

“We have got to try and consolidate in this league and up to now we look like we have accustomed ourselves well to it, we look like we have adjusted well and we have just got to kick on.

“If we can put some results together, who knows what will happen,? But we aren’t looking at finishing in the automatic promotion places or in the play-offs, we want to concentrate on ourselves and if what we do is good enough then so be it.”