Port Vale manager Darren Moore has urged his side to be more ruthless or miss out on a place in the League Two play-offs.
The Valiants looked nailed on for an automatic promotion spot during the early stages of the season. They hit the top of the table in October, a position they retained until losing 1-0 to Walsall in December.
That defeat against the Saddlers sparked a run of dreadful form which has seen them win just five times since, a run stretching 17 games. They host MK Dons tomorrow afternoon in a run of four games without a win and having suffered a late loss against Colchester United last weekend.
Vale still hold a place in the play-offs, sitting sixth. However, they are just two points above eighth-placed Grimsby Town and three above the in-form Colchester with 11 games remaining.
Moore Issues ‘Nearly Men’ Warning
With the teams below them starting to put the pressure on, it is imperative that the Staffordshire-based team start to pick up points. They’ll hope to do that during the remainder of the month with three successive home games before facing local rivals Crewe Alexandra.
Moore is well aware that their current form isn’t good enough and has issued a warning to his squad. Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss addressed the recent defeat against Colchester:
“For the form we’ve been in, for it to end in that manner was disappointing.
“We worked so hard to get back in the game and then to give away a needless free-kick – we certainly did things from a defensive point of view we need to learn from,” Moore said.
“Our concentration levels certainly need to be better. We’ve discussed it and put it to bed.
“We had some good chances but we talk about that ruthless nature in that final third and we never [did that]. We need to force those chances into the net.
“We don’t want to become the nearly men. We want to get it done.”
Writer’s View
Should Port Vale fail to secure a play-off place, it would surely mark their season as a huge failure. Having been the team to beat for so long, falling out of the top seven altogether would be a disaster. Even if they were to sneak in, their current form is nowhere near good enough to see them earn promotion. The play-offs are often won by the team with the most momentum, which Vale certainly don’t. However, a lot can change in 11 games and three successive home fixtures should offer encouragement that they can turn things around.
