Port Vale go into a run of two home games in Sky Bet League Two aiming to build on the draw that was earned away to Newport County last time out.

Neil Aspin’s men are now three games without defeat in all competitions and he is hoping that the form can continue, but he insists that everyone must take things on a ‘game-by-game’ basis.

“I don’t want to build the next two games up and put the players under more pressure than they already are,” said Aspin.

“It is a pressure when you’re at the foot of the table and you’ve just got to take the balanced approach.

“We have got over twenty games to play and we must be consistent within our performances over them games. If we do that, I’ll look at it that way and we’ll get enough points to be safe.”

One player who hasn’t featured recently due to injury is Ben Whitfield, and the manager has given an update as to how much longer the midfielder is likely to be sidelined.

He said: “Ben is making progress and I’ve had a good chat with him. Without putting him under pressure and setting a deadline, I’d like to think that in a couple of weeks he would be in contention.”

With Whitfield’s current loan spell from AFC Bournemouth set to end in January, Aspin has revealed that he is already looking at extending that deal.

The midfielder has impressed during his time at ValePark so far this season, and the manager is keen to keep hold of him.

“I’m going to speak to somebody about that today,” said Aspin, speaking to the press on Thursday.

“He’s a good player who’s young and he is going to get better. He has improved since we’ve been here, both in terms of fitness and how involved he was becoming in games.

“His attitude is excellent too so he’s got a lot of qualities that we like to have at the club.”