New signing Christian Montano insists that everybody at Port Vale is itching to earn promotion back into the third tier at the first time of asking.

With the season now just a matter of weeks away and friendly fixtures getting under way very shortly, the former Bristol Rovers man is looking forward to putting on a Vale shirt.

He said: "I'm sure the whole team will want to aim high, whether that's the players already here or the new ones coming in. It will be the same too for the manager and hopefully we can achieve that together."

"With regards to pre-season, it's one of the most important parts of football. You have to come back in shape and work as hard as you can to attack the season as you want to finish.

"Hopefully we can start with a win and then go on to have a great season."

After having conversations with Michael Brown, Montano is eager to impress and he has been pleased with the levels of encouragement from the Valiants boss.

He said: "Browny has told me to express myself and enjoy my football. He will be helping me to improve as a player and I'm really looking forward to working with the gaffer, the coaching staff and all the lads."