Port Vale: Time for Vale hopefuls to play up
PORT Vale boss Micky Adams insisted his 17 contract hopefuls are still in the race to earn new deals as he sifted through the ashes of Saturday's 3-1 home defeat by Northampton.
But those players striving to extend their Vale futures beyond the end of the current campaign must hope Adams is not indulging in a clever game of bluff with just 12 games remaining.
While the likes of top scorer Marc Richards are virtually assured of being offered new terms, time is running out for others to stake their claim.
Adams said: "We've got 12 games to go, so I'm not going to tell anybody my decisions before I've faced my players.
"I'll look them straight in the eye and tell them what they are.
"Whether they're tough decisions or not, they will be done for the right reasons.
"But at the minute those decisions are a million miles away, because we've still got 12 games left.
"The players have an opportunity every time they cross that white line and some, I'm afraid, let themselves down against Northampton."
While Adams was pleased with his side's commitment, he admitted they were "beaten up" by a powerful Cobblers outfit.
Vale's inability to tame the Northampton "weapon of mass destruction", burly striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, contributed heavily to their sixth home league defeat of the season.
It was a failing best highlighted in the third minute, when Akinfenwa took advantage of defensive uncertainty on the edge of Vale's penalty area.
Despite being surrounded by three Vale shirts, an unchallenged Akinfenwa was allowed to collect a high ball and, after producing a neat turn, fire a low drive inside the left-hand post.
Vale hit back just two minutes later when rejuvenated midfielder Doug Loft stormed forward to score back-to-back goals following his strike in Tuesday's 3-1 success at Darlington.
The 23-year-old's initial effort was blocked before loan attacker Sean Rigg, recalled to the starting line-up in place of striker Craig Davies, hit a well-struck volley that was only parried by Cobblers keeper Jason Steele.
An alert Loft was quickest to pounce on the loose ball and, from four yards out, angled his shot into the far right-hand corner.
Northampton shaded the first half, although Vale produced some decent build-up play with the impressive Loft adding dynamism and agility through the centre.
But, as Louis Dodds and Lewis Haldane struggled to make in-roads down the flanks, Vale always looked vulnerable in the face of Northampton's powerful forward bursts.
While Akinfenwa's strike partner Billy McKay provided a more subtle threat, the visitors also possessed dangerous wingers in Paul Rodgers and Liam Davis.
Vale keeper Joe Anyon, who delivered an uncertain first-half display, did make a trio of saves to fend off strikes from McKay, plus midfielders Abdul Osman and Ryan Gilligan before the half-hour mark.
Vale engineered the occasional chance as a well-worked move involving Gareth Owen and Richards led to Haldane missing the target with a weak long-range effort.
More good possession play resulted in Steele diving to his left to palm away Rigg's explosive 20-yard volley.
But, while Northampton would eventually prove to be worthy winners, Adams was left to bemoan his side's "two minutes of madness" at the end of the first half which effectively consigned them to defeat.
The ball was fed to Rodgers on right on 45 minutes, before the winger delivered a seemingly harmless cross for Anyon to swallow up.
But the keeper misjudged the flight and, by spilling the ball, allowed Osman to stab home from the edge of the six-yard box.
Worse was to follow as Vale's defence went to sleep two minutes into first-half injury time when Rodgers sent over a low cross from the same flank.
His centre was met by McKay whose first shot was blocked before Davis swept a pass back into his feet from just outside the box.
McKay was afforded the time to take a touch before guiding the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from close range.
Adams responded by making a triple substitution at the break.
Off went left-back Kris Taylor, Dodds and Haldane as Tommy Fraser, Davies and John McCombe made their entrance.
Richards missed a gilt-edged chance to reduce the deficit a minute after the break, when Rigg's deflected shot bounced kindly into his path.
But the 15-goal striker could only slice his eight-yard volley wide of the right-hand post.
On the hour-mark, Steele clawed away Davies's 16-yard shot, before the striker executed a header that was cleared a yard from Northampton's goal-line.
Vale went closest to pulling a goal back on the 70th-minute mark when Richards met Loft's right-flank corner with a glancing header that was kept out by a combination of Steele's faint finger-tip save and a goal-line clearance.
Adams said: "We've lost a game of football because of two minutes of madness.
"In the second half we came out and had a go.
"People may say it's easier to perform when you're losing, but you've still got to go out and do it.
"I saw people not wanting the ball, particularly in the first half, and if I could have taken 10 players off at half-time I would have done."
Nevertheless, Adams remains defiant, adding: "This time last season we were struggling at the wrong end of the table, now we're a mid-table side.
"And if we win nine or 10 of our remaining games, who says we're out of the play-off frame?"
