Port Vale will be hoping to end the year on a high this weekend as they host Luton Town on Saturday, but Neil Aspin is expecting a very difficult game against the league leaders.
The Valiants then travel to Meadow Lane on New Year’s Day where they will come up against another side vying for promotion, Kevin Nolan’s Notts County.
Recent form means the Valiants will go into the fixtures in confident mood, and Neil Aspin insists his side are relishing the challenge of facing two of the leading teams in Sky Bet League Two.
He said: “I know how good Notts County are, but with the results that Luton have had and the goals they’ve scored, it would appear that they’re much better than everyone else in the league.
“I don’t think we can get any more out of the players than what they’re putting in at the moment.
“To get results in this league they have to play to their maximum, and when they haven’t done that, we’ve failed to get results.
“We’ve got to be at our very best if we want to get anything from these next two games, but we will see if that’s enough to compete.”
Earlier in the season, Vale slipped to narrow defeats to both of their upcoming opponents, but Aspin insists that he is focused solely on how his own team perform.
“There’s no point in worrying about the two teams we are going to face because if we don’t play at the top of our game, regardless of where the opposition are in the table, we won’t get anything.
“It’s a case of trying to get our team to do everything right on the day and doing the things you need to do to win games.
“That doesn’t guarantee you success, but it gives you a chance.”