Following Port Vale’s defeat in the FA Cup last night at the hands of Yeovil Town, manager, Neil Aspin remains upbeat about the performance of his squad.

He said: “The biggest plus from the game tonight, although it is a defeat, is that we can take the positives, and we have to use them for the rest of the season.”

Vale were reduced to 10 men minutes before half-time as Cristian Montano saw red. With only seven minutes played following the restart, James Gibbons followed suit as he headed for an early bath also.

Aspin commented on his players’ commitment after being reduced to nine men: “To play over an hour with nine men - they deserve full credit to have kept the game alive. They have battled, which when you get supporters travelling all the way down here, they want to see.” 

From last night’s display, the gaffer is convinced that his players have what it takes to retain their Football League status next year: “I thought that the players showed battling qualities, determination and togetherness – they are all the qualities needed to stay in the division and get away from the foot of the table.” 

The 52-year old is aware that the loss of both Montano and Gibbons could not come at a worse time: “Unfortunately, now we have got a situation where we are going into a difficult period with a difficult run of games and we are two players less – they’re players that we can’t afford to be losing.”

With that in mind, Vale bear down on another long trip, this time up north to Brunton Park to face Carlisle United at the weekend. A fixture that Aspin will be looking to use last weekend’s victory over Cambridge United as foundations for.