Port Vale manager Neil Aspin felt his side deserved the 1-0 Boxing Day victory over Coventry City.
Speaking to the Stoke Sentinenal, Aspin said about the game which was decided in the 79th minute by a Nathan Smith header: “It was a very tough game, it was a battle and a scrap. There weren’t many chances, the keepers didn’t have to pull off many saves and, at times you wondered if either team was going to get the breakthrough.
“But I felt that we deserved to win the game. I felt that, of the two teams, we pushed more for the goal. You would expect that because we were the home team and Coventry would have been happier to take a point.
“But I can’t fault the players because we have had to cope with a lot lately and then before the game we lost David Worrall who was ill.
“So we have had a lot of illness in the camp but the one thing the players have shown the supporters is they are prepared to battle. I think when you come as a fan that is all you can ask for.”