As Manny Oyeleke looks ahead to this weekend's clash with Forest Green Rovers, he puts Vale's recent impressive form down to hard-work and the team's boosted fitness over the past few weeks.

Not long ago, Vale were staring a relegation battle directly in the face as they struggled to pick up a win during the early stages of John Askey's reign.

Four consecutive losses and a draw had Vale in trouble, however just a few weeks later, Vale sit in 20th place, 8 points clear of the drop zone and four games unbeaten.

With a renewed positive energy around the squad, Oyeleke has hailed the work of Askey as the players are responding to the work ethic he is implementing.

He said: "I think the level of hard-work we've put in, pressing the teams. I think now we know the manager's philosophy a lot better now. 

"It took us a few weeks of training and not necessarily getting the results we wanted to really implement what the manager wants from us.

"We look a lot more organised and everyone knows their jobs. Its not just desire, we've become a lot fitter. The training regime has become a lot harder and when the gaffer came in, we weren't up tp the standard he required for his tactics to work."

Not only has Askey bolstered Vale's hard-working mentality, he has also introduced a new formation that has come to fruition over the past few weeks.

Vale's impressive run began with a hearty 0-0 draw with the struggling Notts County, whereas progress was most clearly seen in Askey's first win as boss when Vale overcame high-flying Mansfield Town at Vale Park.

Oyeleke then found the net against Yeovil Town as Askey's side ran out 3-0 winners just a few days later, before a different kind of performance earned Vale a point against Swindon Town in difficult conditions.

Now looking ahead to Forest Green this Saturday, Oyeleke has admitted he is enjoying playing in the new system.

He said: "I like playing in a three. When I play in a three, generally we have more control in the game and teams can't outnumber us in the midfield.

"There's positives and negatives to every formation but the major thing is that we know what the manager wants from us and we're putting that into practice."