But Dodds says Vale are taking each game as it comes

After the victory over Colchester United on Saturday - Vale’s fist away win since August – confidence is high within the camps and Louis Dodds says spirits are high.

He said: “It is a good place to be at the minute. We have got a couple of good results and then that snowballed and we are doing really well at the minute. Everybody is enjoying it and I think everyone can see that.

“Before Saturday’s game, if you had said we would have a 2-1 victory we would have snapped your hand off.

“To come away conceding a goal, and that is the only negative from the game, we are delighted with that. I think it is a good three points and something we can build on.

“Pagey has done a lot of work with us, how to set up and how to defend, it’s not just ‘headless chicken’ running at the ball and trying to get back straight away, you retreat into your shape and go when it’s right to go

“It is defending from the front and to the back and it is working so all of the work we have been doing o the training ground is paying off.

“Everyone looks forward to coming into training now, everyone is up for the games and it really is a good place to be and now all of the distractions are gone there is nothing to stop us from looking up the table now.

“It is a boring cliché but we are taking each game as it comes, and hopefully we will get the results our performances merit. If we take each game as it comes and then we will slowly sneak up that table and then who knows?”

One player who won’t be part of things out on the pitch over the next few weeks of course is striker Tom Pope, who recently went under the knife following a knee injury.

A player like Tom is always going to be missed, but Dodds feels that Vale have players in the squad who can play their part in the resurgence of the team.

He said: “When you lose ‘Popey’, with all of his strengths – I have never played with or against anybody with the heading ability Tom has got – you are going to miss that.

“But ‘Willo’ has come in, obviously he is a different striker, but he led the line on Saturday and he was fantastic.

“Everyone has got to chip in with the goals now. We can’t rely on Tom now so hopefully the goals will be shared around and we won’t miss him too much.”