A look ahead to Saturday's pre-season friendly at the Carlisle Grounds
Vale are set to play their final game in Ireland on Saturday afternoon and they continue to step things up as they take on Bray Wanderers at their Carlisle Grounds stadium. (3.00pm kick off.)
Micky Adams’ side are yet to concede a goal in three pre-season games, but League of Ireland Premier Division outfit Bray Wanderers should prove to be their stiffest test up to date.
Defender Dan Jones has yet to feature for the Valiants due to what has been described as a slight ankle injury, with Vale boss Micky Adams refusing to take any risks with his players ahead of the new season.
The former Sheffield Wednesday defender is certainly close to a return, however, and may well play some part in Saturday afternoon’s fixture.
He could be joined by fellow defender Adam Yates who missed the Athlone Town match with a knee injury, but is expected to have recovered in time for Saturday.
Vale’s main priorities are building up the fitness of the players and of course avoiding any serious injuries, but it will be interesting to see how they fare against better opposition.
The squad will fly back after this game and then start to prepare for Tuesday’s opening home friendly against Derby County on Tuesday evening, kick-off 7.30pm.