Smith after Cambridge

Grimsby Town defeat has given the players an “extra-push” to fight until the final whistle to secure points from each game says Nathan Smith.

The Vale defender expressed how good all the players were feeling to have come through a tough week following the disappointment at Grimsby, and responded against Cambridge United with an important win after a hard working week.

Speaking positively after the game, Smith pointed how rewarding the result was, as they worked hard in the week preparing and then had to battle for 90 minutes in a tricky match to gain a vital and deserved three points.

Keeping a clean sheet for the first time this season was another positive taken away from the game, as it will boost the confidence of the whole team, especially the defensive players who were able to shut out any real United attacks for the whole game, with Scott Brown not having to make any saves.

The whole game has further boosted the idea of Vale Park being a fortress for the Valiants, with them only dropping two points there so far and extended their unbeaten home run with back to back wins.  

He said: “It’s been a tough week in training and we’ve looked at what went wrong last week and it’s something that’s got to be cut out and to bounce back today with a win was the priority, but to do it in the way we did with a clean sheet is a nice cherry on top.

“To do anything in this season I think we’ve got to make our home form a lot better and make this place a place that people don’t want to come to.

“The feeling we all got after last week’s game, it’s one of them where we’ve now felt it and we don’t want to feel it again, it gives us that extra-push in games like today where we could of perhaps took our foot off the pedal and give up, but we kept grinding.”

That drive to make sure the team gain every point possible from every match was seen by Smith yesterday and he expressed his delight with the way the whole squad performed throughout the whole match.

The commanding display put on by the Vale has continued to boost the confidence felt around the club and that will be taken into Tuesday nights Leasing.com group stage game against Shrewsbury Town.

The game gives another opportunity to showcase what the team can do, maintain the home form and keep the positive results coming in, and maybe spark the start of a cup run that takes the team to Wembley .

He said: “To be as dominant as it was, I think our performance put in was exceptional and if we do that every week I’m sure we’ll go places.

“I think momentum is key and if it’s a friendly, a cup game of any sort, I think we want to win it, we don’t want to go into games thinking ‘we’re not too bothered about it’, we want that winning mentality around the place.

“A few of the lads laugh about how many times they’ve played at Wembley and as you grow up it’s one of the things you want to do in football and if it comes through the EFL trophy so be it.”