As Valiant Player prepares to interview Tom Pope ahead of Saturday’s SkyBet League 1 clash with Peterborough United (3pm) the Vale striker summaries exactly what he expects on Saturday in four short words and this is before the interview has even started.

“A tough 90 minutes,” explains Pope.

We’ve had a summary from Vale’s number 11 but we thought we’d carry on…

Vale will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Johnstone’s Paint Trophy defeat to Rochdale and continue an unbeaten league run of three games.

With Saturday’s visitors the second highest scorers behind league leaders Leyton Orient Pope is fully aware of the quality Peterborough possess. 

“I think they’ve certainly got the best front line in the league, they’ve spent a lot of money.

“Not just the front line but the midfielders as well, they’re really creative going forward,” said Pope.

“Defensively they’re not great, they’re a very gung-ho kind-of side that get men forward.

“I think if we can play to our strengths and get the ball in their final third then we can cause them trouble.”

Vale are 10 games into their inaugural season back in League One and they are slap bang in the middle lying comfortably in twelfth position.

Pope is pleased with the start Vale have made but admits the side have missed out on taking points from games, with the Leyton Orient match at the forefront of his mind. 

“We’ve coped quite well, the games we’ve lost certainly the Leyton Orient game was a hard one to take, they are flying in the league and we deserved at least a point out of it,” he explained.

“I think we’ve adapted quite well, bar the Colchester game where we just never showed up or Tuesday, we’ve deserved something out of most of the games.”

One man to make a return to fitness is manager Micky Adams who will resume first-team responsibilities after recovering from hip surgery.

Pope is confident the gaffer’s presence will push a few players that little bit extra.

“The gaffer coming back is going to get a few lads on their toes, feeling the need to run that extra yard to try and impress, certainly the lads that haven’t been playing because obviously on Tuesday it wasn’t good enough,” added Pope.