21 year old Port Vale defender James Gibbons has hailed some of the senior players of the Vale squad for the help they provide him both on and off the pitch.
The young defender has started every game for the Vale so far this season and has received a lot of recognition for his performances so far, with captain Tom Pope saying after the Forest Green Rovers win on Tuesday that he was "going all the way."
John Askey, along with the fans, were also impressed with Gibbo's attitude on Tuesday night. An uncharacteristic lapse in concentration at the back from the defender allowed Forest Green Rovers to equalise, but despite the mistake, Gibbons bounced back and put in a solid performance for the Vale.
Contributing towards the first win of the season with a fantastic assist and a revitalised performance at the back, Gibbo singled out Leon Legge for his words of advice during the game and says other senior players have also played a massive role in helping him.
"[Legge] put his arm around me and said 'keep your head up it's gone, you've been playing well, you've set up the goal and been doing brilliant so don't let it affect you, carry on and start again'.
"That's the stuff you need from your senior players and Leggey's brilliant at that. Not just Leggey though there's Popey and Browny as well and that helps the younger players massively.
"It's good that they have faith in you and know that you can bounce back. When you're in the first team as a young lad you can't let mistakes like that affect you because as a defender if you make another mistake it could happen again. You have to deal with it, carry on and start again."
Another factor which Gibbons says has enabled him to gain a lot more confidence on the pitch and put in the performances like he has been doing is the fans and their support.
The efforts from the Vale fans has not gone unnoticed, with John Askey and Dave Kevan heaping praise on fans for the support they have shown so far this season, especially at Salford City.
A combined number of 1800 fans have travelled away from home so far this season to both Colchester United and Salford City, whilst there was over 4000 fans here at Vale Park on Tuesday night to support the boys against Forest Green Rovers. atmosphere from the fans has been felt throughout the squad, especially for Gibbons.
"The fans were brilliant against Northampton and at Salford but especially at home, you want to get them going and it could be something as simple as a 30 yard run with the ball just to drive forward and get us up the pitch.
"You can certainly hear them when I am running forward so to set a goal up was brilliant for me."