Blades Defender Focussed On The Positives
has been impressed by what he has seen at Port Vale so far and is looking forward to getting to know his new teammates even better this week. Neill CollinsSheffield United loanee
The 31-year-old made his debut for the Valiants in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Leyton Orient and performed well despite not having made a competitive appearance since October.
Rob Page’s side dominated the first half against the O’s but a red card for Chris Neal, which coincided with a penalty for the hosts, was the turning point in what turned out to be a disappointing afternoon.
Speaking to the press on Monday, Collins insisted Vale must take the positives from the game and claimed their performance in the first 45 minutes was one of the best he’s been a part of at Brisbane Road.
“I said to the lads this morning that I’ve been down to Leyton Orient two or three times in the last couple of years and I don’t think I’ve ever played in a performance in the first half that was so dominant and on top,” he said.
“We should have been comfortably two or three-nil ahead, it doesn’t always work like that so I don’t think I’ve ever been part of that, even at Sheffield United and teams top of the league.”
It has been a whirlwind few days for Collins, who joined Vale on Thursday just before the loan window slammed shut.
He trained that morning and travelled down with the squad on Friday before being thrust into the action against Orient the following afternoon.
With almost a full week’s worth of training until Good Friday’s clash against Colchester United, the centre back says he is looking forward to getting more familiar with the rest of the squad.
“These are the things people don’t tend to see outside, you travel down, you get to meet the players and unusually I don’t know many players here,” he commented.
“So I’ll be getting to know them and it’s more so the type of players you’re playing with. You think you know what they’re like but until you actually get to play with them on the training pitch you get to know what they like and what they don’t.
“So these are all the intricacies that you get used to so I’m looking forward to a good weeks training and we’ll work hard which is great and get ready for the two big games.”