Play-off aim for Page

THE play-offs are the aim for Port Vale and a manager John Sheridan knows better than most.

Tonight’s visitors will arrive armed with the hope that they can start a big, five-day period with a bang.

Rob Page was Sheridan’s old captain at Chesterfield and is currently making some strides at Vale Park.

Page’s side saw off Southend 3-1 in their most recent outing, and with a home game against Colchester to come on Saturday, they will view this clash at SportsDirect.com Park as a chance to chip away at the four-point gap between 11th spot and the top six.

WINNING

There is no shortage of belief in the Athletic camp, though, with boss Sheridan keen to make up for the disappointment of conceding late on at Scunthorpe by making a seventh game unbeaten a winning occasion.

“Port Vale are strong and organised and I know Rob Page really well,” said Sheridan. “It is his first job as a manager and he is doing it well.

“I had him at Chesterfield and I like him. He is a good lad.

“They are a solid outfit and they are not too far away from the play-offs. I am sure Pagey will believe they can get in there, and they will come to us, looking at our position in the league, believing they can get something from the game.

“But he will know we are on a decent run and I expect to give them a hard game.

“We are at home and playing with a bit of confidence. We will be going out to get three points.”

With Aaron Amadi-Holloway back from an ankle injury to start tonight, Athletic are expected to revert to Sheridan’s favoured 4-4-2 formation as the team hunts a third victory in four outings.

There is a full fixture programme in Sky Bet League One tonight. While some are taken to predicting the results of rivals, Sheridan reckons that is a waste of time.

The only thing that matters, he says, is what Athletic do, with a home fixture against Swindon on Saturday following on from this test.

HOME

“It is two home games for us and we want to win both, starting with Port Vale,” added the Athletic boss.

“People were telling me, ‘Fleetwood will get beaten there, Chesterfield will lose there’. . . it just doesn’t work like that.

“I am not bothered who is playing who, I concentrate on ourselves. You can’t predict results as you don’t know what will happen in this league.

“It won’t be easy for us to stay up — but I really believe that we will do that.”