An in-form Vale head to Highbury this weekend
Graham Alexander expects another difficult test this weekend as his side welcome Port Vale to Highbury for a League One encounter.Defeat at Peterborough United last Saturday meant Town slipped to 11th in the table but will look to put things right with the visit of the Valiants.
Under the guidance of caretaker manager Robert Page until the end of October following Micky Adams’ resignation last month, the Valiants have picked up four points from their last two games and will look to continue their good form on the Fylde Coast.
And Alexander, at this press conference this afternoon, insisted that his side won’t have it easy against the Staffordshire outfit.
He said: “All games at this level are tough tests and Saturday won’t be any different. We’re looking forward to getting back to Highbury.”
“If we can play as well as we have been doing in games but just find that little cutting edge then we’ll be fine.
“The last time we were at Highbury it was a great game for all involved with the Club and we’re looking for something similar, but of course the three points as well.
“We’re looking to win more games at home and I’m not going to shy away from that fact. We’ve played very well in the majority of our games this season and I can’t think of a game where I’ve been really disappointed.
“We’re in professional football and are here to win. Everyone at this football Club wants us to win games and we’ve been just short of that lately.
“It’s not through a want of effort or ability, it’s just the fact we haven’t found that cutting edge that you need to win games and it’s something we’re looking to improve on.
“We know if we keep playing as well as we are then our efforts in front of goal will turn and we’ll get what we deserve.
“We know of Port Vale when they got promoted from League Two a couple of seasons ago. They were a very competitive team then and I won’t be expecting anything different on Saturday.
“There’s always a reaction of sorts when a new manager takes over and Robert has done well so far at Port Vale. We have to make sure we concentrate on ourselves though.”
With the addition of Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Liam McAlinden this morning, Alexander now has another dimension to his attack.
“Liam’s a very good young footballer who wants to score goals and comes with a good pedigree.
“He’s desperate to establish himself as a first team player and unfortunately for him he’s behind some very good players at Wolves.
“We’re really pleased to get him on board because there was a few clubs interested in him but he chose to come to us which is good.
“The team always comes first so if we can bring in someone who will improve performances and results then we’ll look to try to do that.”