Port Vale will be hoping to pick up our first win of the new year in Danny Pugh’s first game of interim charge, when we welcome Grimsby Town to Vale Park this weekend. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Grimsby Town
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 9th January
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Graham Salisbury
Port Vale
Manager: Danny Pugh
Form: DLLDL
Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (5 Goals)
First team coach, Danny Pugh, has been placed in interim charge of the Valiants, following the departure of John Askey and Dave Kevan, so he will be hoping that he can get off to a winning start against the Mariners.
Pugh has emphasised the importance of preparation under difficult conditions in the build-up to the fixture, calling for the squad to pull together and work hard to turn recent results around, starting this Saturday.
Pugh will have Tom Conlon available for the game after completing his period of self-isolation, whilst Cristian Montano and David Worrall are also available after returning from injury. Although there are no fresh injuries, Leon Legge will miss out as he serves the first game of his two match ban due to suspension.
“You quickly have to adapt and change and focus on the next step, and you focus on Saturday’s game, you can’t look too far ahead, the players can’t look too far ahead, we’ve got ourselves in a situation now and we need to get out of it as a group.”
Danny Pugh, Port Vale Interim Manager
Grimsby Town
Manager: Paul Hurst
Form: WLLDL
Top Goal Scorer: Matthew Pollock (3 Goals)
The Mariners have had a troublesome time so far this season, seeing them currently left sat second from bottom, inside the relegation zone, with Ian Holloway leaving the club just before Christmas and Paul Hurst returning to Blundell Park for his second spell in charge at the end of last year.
Hurst’s Grimsby return was not one he will have been happy with however, seeing his side fall to a 2-1 defeat at home against Cambridge United, so he will also be eager to get his first win under his belt and kick-start a run of form to drag the Mariners out of the drop zone.
Paul Hurst has bolstered his ranks with his first signing since taking charge today, bringing left-back Sam Habergham into the club until the end of the season, with the former Lincoln City man available for tomorrow’s clash.
One to watch: Elliott Hewitt
The 26-year-old versatile defender or midfielder started out his career at Macclesfield Town after graduating through the youth academy at the Moss Rose.
After making 25 appearances for the Silkmen, he was signed by Ipswich Town in 2012, spending three seasons at Portman Road, during which time he had loan spells with Gillingham and Colchester United.
The former Wales Under-21 international then signed for Notts County in 2015, and played a central part in their 2017-18 campaign which saw the Magpies reach the Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-finals.
He made 152 appearances for County, netting eight times, before his 2018-19 season came to a premature end in February due to injury, with Hewitt joining the Mariners in 2019, where he has become a key figure, scoring his first goal of the season last weekend.
Talk:
Danny Pugh: “I believe this group of lads who are here now, can achieve something this year, if we can add to them and improve them, great, I’m sure we’ll do it but I do believe this group of players have more than enough to be successful in this league.”
Coverage:
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute coverage of the match for all domestic supporters, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
To purchase an iFollow match pass click here.
There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: @officialpvfc
Reaction will be available on the website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and our official social media channels.