'We have to stick together and work even harder to recover...'

NOT even a change in formation could rouse Port Vale from their goal drought - but Darren Moore was encouraged by the performance at Lincoln City.

- Clive Youlton

The Valiants boss presided over a 1-0 defeat that was the 10th of the campaign and it was the sixth game in League One without scoring a goal.

But Moore-backed by the club's hierarchy to get Vale out of the mess they find themselves in at the foot of the table was adamant that hard work and sticking together are the ingredients needed to see an improvement.

His team - likely to be much-changed - take on Barnsley at home tonight in the EFL Trophy.

Reflecting on the defeat at Lincoln he told Port Vale TV: "It was a really closely-fought game but the one decisive moment in the game, they got it and we never did. We huffed and puffed again. I thought the boys worked incredibly hard.

"I thought they did well in terms of the system change that we did.

"As I said, these decisive moments we've got to get on the end of them but it's just one moment in the game and they got it."