Vale boss takes some of the blame for defeat
Vale boss Micky Adams was prepared to take some of the blame following Vale’s home defeat to Preston North End last night, but he also paid tribute to the visitors whose organisation at the back frustrated Vale at times.
He said “When a side goes down to ten men so early, if you don’t beat them you have got to ask questions why.
“We looked lethargic in the first half, didn’t pass the ball early enough, didn’t get it wide, didn’t cross the ball from the right areas and played too many straight balls.
“It is disappointing, especially to go and concede a sloppy goal as well – it could have been avoided.”
“You have got to give credit to Preston. Against eleven men it would have been difficult, they are a good side.
“They went down to Orient, the league leaders and beat them and they won their last three away games coming into this one without conceding a goal so it was always going to be difficult for us. It was up to us to test them and see how good we were, but we failed that test.
“I am disappointed with what we have done, I think we could have done a lot better, but sometimes you have to pay credit to the opposition as well.
“They are a decent side, they had people putting their bodies on the line in the second half, heading balls clear and maybe we have got to take a little bit from that, particularly away from home.
“They struggle at home because maybe with the players they have got it suits them to be playing away, where they can string five across the back and make it difficult for teams to break them down.
“Team have got to find the answer and we didn’t find the answer – we should have done with ten men. We were a lot better in the second half without really finding a breakthrough.
“We didn’t get enough quality balls into the box and as I said before we didn’t get them in from the right areas.
“We lost because we weren’t good enough – all fourteen of us, and if you want to include me in that, all fifteen of us because I picked the side. I said to the boys, I haven’t got the side wrong too many times but maybe I did tonight.”