Scott Brown: "It was a fantastic team effort."

Scott Brown: "It was a fantastic team effort."

Saturday's 1-0 win at home to Bury stretched Vale's unbeaten run to four games in all competitions, including two wins and a draw in Sky Bet League Two.

The first of those victories came in the form of a 1-0 win away to Oldham Athletic before a goalless draw was played out against Stevenage at the Lamex Stadium, meaning the clean sheet recorded against Bury was the third in succession for Scott Brown.

Despite the experienced goalkeeper proving pivotal in the Valiants' upturn in form, he was quick to point out that every player has been key. The 33-year-old pulled off a remarkable reaction save to stop Bury snatching a point on Saturday, but he was impressed by the entire performance.

He said: “My save was alright, but the most important thing is that we went on to win 1-0. That’s the main priority and that’s what I take most pride in, the fact we won with a real team effort.

“What a difference two weeks makes. Last time I was stood here doing an interview we had just had our pants pulled down by Lincoln, but it’s been a fantastic reaction by everyone.

“We needed a response and thankfully we’ve had that with two really positive away results, but today we had to bounce back in front of the home fans because we let them down against Lincoln."

Whilst extending their own unbeaten run by prevailing against Ryan Lowe's men, Vale also put an end to Bury's 7-game unbeaten run, and Brown admits that it was a very difficult test.

Danny Mayor and Nicky Maynard were the main threats for the Shakers, particularly in the first half, but the goalkeeper believes that Vale showed great organisation to minimise their effectiveness.

He said: “Bury will be right up there at the end of the season because they’re a fantastic team. The attacking threat they have is brilliant and their movement is really good.

“We couldn’t quite get close enough to them in the first half and although they had loads of possession, they didn’t really create many chances.

“Despite finding it tough in the first half, we came out and really pressed from the front in the second, throwing our bodies on the line to grind out the win.

“In every game where we’ve scored first, we’ve gone on to win. It was a great touch from Popey and that’s what he’s all about. 

“He hasn’t been getting much service and it has been a hard job for him, but today we gave him a chance and he took it."

Neil Aspin and his Vale side are on home soil again next time out as Notts County make the trip to Burslem, and Brown is eager to ensure that he and his teammates can put in another good display to keep the run going.

He is anticipating a tricky fixture even though the Magpies have endured a slow start to the Sky Bet League Two campaign, but he wants Vale to focus on themselves in order to achieve the best possible result.

He said: “We have to remember that last time we went four unbeaten, we then followed it up with the performance against Lincoln. We can’t look too far ahead now.

“It’s a 46-game season so we have to stay strong throughout. I’m sure Notts County will be up there and Harry Kewell is a fantastic manager, but it will be interesting to see what their style is like.

“If they’re anything like the Crawley team in the way that they play, it will be a good game because they’ve got some really talented players - we expect a tough test.”