Archer before Stevenage

Jordan Archer spoke about how much he has enjoyed his time so far at Vale park, and how welcomed he has been by his fellow teammates following a difficult start with injury.

The striker who arrived following the unfortunate situation at Bury discussed just how much he has learnt already from other players in the squad, with the likes of Tom Pope and Richie Bennett helping to add different elements to his game.

The help to Archer has not just been on the field either as after he suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the season away at Newport County, his time on the sidelines was made a lot easier due to the levels of support he received from his teammates.

The close and friendly attitude within the dressing room this season has been touched upon by a few players with Archer adding to that, saying how positive off a place the club is to be at, and he aims to give back as much as he can for the support.

He said: “My game’s more running in behind and playing on the shoulder but you see players like Popey [Pope] and Benno [Bennett], how they bring players into play and they’re physical in the air and I want to add more of that to my game, so I’m watching them in training.

“When I first did my shoulder I had loads of messages from the lads saying to get well soon and I hope it’s not too bad, which was nice, obviously you’re a bit down because of the injury but then the lads are reassuring you and helping you along the way.

“Everyone’s great in the dressing room, it’s a close knit squad so it’s just good to be a part of the club… everyone’s friendly, everyone’s welcomed me to the club and I’m just enjoying it, enjoying being here and enjoying playing for Port Vale.”

Unfortunately for Archer he has not been able to feature as much as he would have liked for far for the Vale after suffering the shoulder injury, making his start at the club a frustrating one as he was unable to play after a strong start, scoring the winner on his debut against Shrewsbury Town in the Leasing.com trophy.

The recovery from the injury has gone well for Archer however, with a speedy return seeing the forward back in training, the first team squad and was even able to feature and score for the reserves last week, something he aims to do again soon for the first team.

With his return to first team games possible from this Saturday’s clash at home to Stevenage, Archer believes the fans are still yet to see the best of him and what he can really do, as he aims to help Vale in their drive for a successful season.

He said: “Frustrating’s the main word really, from just not getting any game time because of my shoulder, I wanted to hit the ground running when I first came in and scoring on my debut was good for me… I’m just hoping I can kick on from here.

“I didn’t want to come in and just straight away sit on the side lines for how many months, I just wanted to do what I could to get back out and be amongst the squad and help the team to progress. 

“I wouldn’t say they’ve [the fans] really seen the best yet, like I say the shoulder just set my back so I just want to kick on from now and prove to everyone what I can do and help the team to push up the table.”