'Vale need to grab games by the scruff of the neck'

DARREN Moore does not want to use the fact Port Vale were playing in their first game as an excuse for the first half performance against Rotherham United.

- Clive Youlton PORT VALE

With the games coming thick and fast, the Valiants manager is preparing his side for a mouthwatering home clash with Cardiff City at Vale Park tomorrow night, and knows his team must replicate the second-half display shown in Yorkshire if they are to stand a chance.

It was a 'welcome to League One' first 45 minutes at Rotherham in the 2-1 defeat and Moore addressed the formation ahead of the Cardiff match.

It also saw him drop Ryan Croasdale from the starting XI which he rectified at the start of the second half.

"Some people might say 'I suppose it's the first game of the season and they are finding their feet," said Moore in a press conference.

"It's not the excuse that we want because you want to eradicate those [performances]. The performance in the first half was more self-inflicted in the way we started the game.

"In the second half we were more the team in the ascendancy. More the team that had woken up. The message was clear with the two contrasting halves.