Paton looking forward after Vale find goal touch in Trophy victory

PORT Vale star Ruari Paton insists they can take a lot from their thumping of Barnsley in midweek.

- Dan Newbould

WELCOME SUCCESS: Ruari Paton helped Port Vale to thrash Barnsley 5-0 in the Vertu Trophy.

Despite their lowly League One position, they seem to thrive in cups and have an FA Cup date with Bristol Rovers tomorrow.

Asked what was different on Tuesday, after a 5-0 win in which he scored twice early on in the Vertu Trophy, he admitted: “It’s a hard question to answer. I'd say probably a bit more calmness from us. I think maybe the last few weeks you can sense maybe a tentativeness, maybe an anxiety to score because you're thinking ‘we need a win, we need a win’

“The other night you could see there was a lot more calmness and composure on the ball in terms of we've probably been forcing things in the past couple of weeks when we don’t need to.

“We just seemed a lot more on the front foot and much, much better with the ball. Not forcing stuff.

“That interchangeable rotation, I think if people are moving it gives us a platform to play a bit more free flowing football.