Port Vale loanee Ben Whitfield has emphasised the importance his teammates have played to help in settle in at Vale this season, as his loan spell soon comes to an end.
The young midfielder joined Vale initially joined on a 6 month loan from Bournemouth in the summer but after some impressive form, the 21 year old signed an extension to keep him here until the end of the season.
With Whitfield's loan spell due to expire after our trip to Cambridge on Saturday, Ben was in a reflective mood on his time here at Vale, especially on his partnership with Tom Pope.
"I've very much enjoyed it, Popey's brilliant to work with. He teaches you a lot just like the lads like Tongue, Pugh behind you and Kay. Them lads have helped me through this season and I've learnt a lot from them.
"Playing up front with Tom, he flicks it anywhere you need it. He knows where I'm going to run, he knows I'm going to run every time.
"So wherever he puts it I'll just chase it, and it worked when we played together. I thought we scored some good goals together."
Since his arrival, Whitfield has made 39 appearances for the club scoring in four of them, most recently against Chesterfield where his winner gave Vale a precious three points, their first in 2018.
The midfielder admitted he would've preferred to have added more goals to his tally but says there was no better feeling than scoring and assisting for the team, with Luton being one of the highlights of his season.
'Whits' is expected to be in the side for Saturday's match against Cambridge, but this may not have been possible had it not been for the fans support. The midfielder said the fans played a big factor in him signing the extension in January.
"It means everything, that's the main reason why I stayed in January. What you want as a player is the fans to like you and especially coming in loan sometimes you don't get that because they see you as not your actual player.
"The fans sometimes don't get behind you, but the fans here have been brilliant. Every time I've scored, the messages I've received, every time I've played or got man of the match the messages on social media have been brilliant.
"That's the reason I stayed in January, and I'm happy I repaid them in some ways by scoring goals."