Midfielder assesses how both he and the team have adapted to life in League One, three months into the 2022/23 season.

• Ben Garrity | “Collectively we are improving every week”
• Port Vale midfielder on different role in Darrell Clarke’s side, life in League One and the fine margins that decide games within the third tier
• Garrity: “We have meetings and video analysis around positions and you have to be more disciplined in the times when you press and not, but I am enjoying being more disciplined in whatever role I am playing - I am learning a lot in terms of positional sense.”

Port Vale midfielder Ben Garrity says the Vale are adapting well to life back in League One, as Darrell Clarke’s side mark three months of the 2022/23 season with the visit of Lincoln City to Vale Park this weekend.

Speaking to iFollow the Vale ahead of Saturday’s game, Garrity – who has been an ever-present in the league for Clarke’s side this season – said:

“It has been different; the opposition is tougher and there are fine margins within the games. Teams are taking chances that perhaps teams last year didn’t take, they are a lot more clinical.

“Personally, I would say it is different because I have played a different role with playing a lot deeper but I have enjoyed it and as a team now I feel like as a team we are starting to get going after a slower start.

“Collectively, we are improving every week. We come up against Lincoln next, who are doing well so far – we were good on Tuesday night against Ipswich but we were just unlucky with the fine margins within the game.”

Garrity scored 12 league goals last season, though he is yet to get off the mark for this campaign. However, the midfielder isn’t worried.

“I think any player – defender, midfielder, attacker – would love to score goals every week but if we won games every week and I didn’t score a goal, I wouldn’t really care,” he explained.

“I am playing a different role now and my main role is to try and stop teams breaking on us and scoring goals – I like that side of the game as much as scoring goals. There are a lot of different parts of the game that you have to do.

“We have meetings and video analysis around positions and you have to be more disciplined around times when to press and not but I am enjoying being more disciplined in whatever role I am playing - I am learning a lot in terms of positional sense.”