NO ROOM FOR EXCUSES
Valiants midfielder Garrity insists they must seize their final chance to secure play-off position
BEN Garrity says he and fellow Port Vale players can’t use pressure as an excuse as they look to rescue their League Two promotion campaign in Saturday’s final game of the regular season at Exeter City.
Vale go into that game needing a point to guarantee a place in the League Two play-offs, although they would still make it with a defeat if Sutton United fail to win at Harrogate or Swindon fail to get a point at Walsall.
They had high hopes of automatic promotion when they won at Hartlepool United on Good Friday to go five points clear in third place, but three defeats on the spin mean they can only finish in the top three if they win at Exeter and Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Mansfield all fail to win.
The standard of Vale’s performances has fallen dramatically in losing at home to Bristol
Rovers, at Walsall and then at home to Newport
County on
Monday, but midfielder
Garrity says they can’t worry about pressure and instead have to concentrate on seizing the opportunity this weekend.
Garrity said:
“People can say pressure but we have spoken about this. It is not really pressure because pressure is if you are down the bottom fighting against relegation.
“This opportunity might never come around again. So, I think people have to use this to add to their game to give them a bit more of a push.”
He says Vale were in a strong position after beating Hartlepool but doesn’t believe complacency has set in since then.
He added: “We have probably looked at the table and thought we are in a great position and you probably think, ‘so many points after the next few games’.
“But the staff and players didn’t think it was done.
“We knew we had some tough games coming up and had to win every game, taking each game as it comes.
But we have dropped off since then haven’t we? So, I couldn’t tell you why, it is just disappointing and we have to look to the next game.
“I don’t think it’s tiredness. Last week (at Walsall) we probably did look lethargic and didn’t really get on top of them.
“I think over the two games we have played them they have run over us really.
“But (against Newport) I thought we looked full of energy. I thought we were much the better side. But that doesn’t matter because we didn’t win.” Garrity’s goal for Vale’s equaliser against Newport County was his 12th of the season but the summer signing from Championship side Blackpool says that will only mean something if the season is a success. He added: “Hopefully we can finish it off with a good end to the season, whether that is automatic or the play-offs. We can’t settle for anything less than the play offs.
“I am happy to have got 12 goals, but I would settle for zero goals now if we got play offs or automatic. The main thing is focusing on the next game and getting three points.”
Exeter are already promoted but are competing for the title.
They are top of the league by a point from Forest Green Rovers who are at Mansfield in Saturday’s final round of games.
Elsewhere in the play-off zone, Joey Barton’s Bristol Rovers play host to relegated Scunthorpe, who have won just four matches all season.