Neil Aspin is expecting Saturday’s home game against Cheltenham Town to be a physical encounter as Port Vale hope to climb out up the league table.

As we approach Saturday, the gaffer is under no illusion that the fixture against the Robins will be a tough battle, but he knows what to expect with their physical presence and attacking mind-set.

He told local media: “Cheltenham are like a lot of teams in this division, they have a physical presence and they’re capable of getting bodies forward to cause problems.

“This week, I’ve tried to concentrate on ourselves rather than the opposition. We are obviously mindful of who we are playing against, but we can’t go into games worrying about our position.

“We need to concentrate on ourselves, we look at our players, the reserves, other players and at the moment we need to get a formation and a system that works for us.”

Following Port Vale’s reserve game in the week against Rotherham United, the gaffer reveals that Cristian Montano is nearing a return as he played 30 minutes in the 2-0 win.

“I was advised by the physio that he would only play 30 minutes”, said Aspin.

“He played those 30 minutes so I would have thought that next week he will probably play a full game with the reserves so until that happens and he’s fit, he won’t be considered for the first-team.”

With the Colombian’s return approaching, the gaffer has a good idea of how he would like to use Montano to fit in with the rest of the squad.

He said: “You have to look at personnel; obviously wingers on a big pitch with lots of space have an advantage.

“But, it depends of what the rest of the team are doing and how they are set-up. There are lots of things to be taken into consideration where I have my own views on how to play.”