Skipper wants Valiant effort

By Mark Mitchener

In some games we've conceded late goals, but we can push on from here George Pilkington

Captain George Pilkington hopes Port Vale can kick-start their season after ending a run of four defeats with wins against Gillingham and Bournemouth.

Vale lie 12th in League One after a topsy-turvy campaign and have only drawn two of their 21 league games.

"We've been winning and losing games, as sometimes we're an all-or-nothing team," Pilkington told BBC Sport.

"We had a good run in the Carling Cup which was good for the club, but we've got to push on in the league now."

That Cup run led to Martin Foyle's side knocking out Championship sides Preston, QPR and Norwich - and they even took the lead at Tottenham in round four before succumbing 3-1 in extra time.

But defender Pilkington hopes back-to-back clean sheets in their wins against the Gills and Cherries can be the foundation for a more consistent run.

"The first goal is always important in this league," he insisted.

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"I can't put my finger on why we haven't had many draws but in some games we've conceded late goals and gone on to lose when a draw would have been a fair result.

"We lost 3-2 to Carlisle a couple of weeks ago after we'd gone 2-0 up and then we lost 4-0 at Hereford in the FA Cup.

"Winning 4-0 at Bournemouth flattered us a bit but it was a solid performance.

"We've now kept two clean sheets and we can push on from here."

Pilkington was handed the captain's armband after signing a new two-year contract in the summer, following the departure of Tony Dinning to Stockport.

And the 25-year-old, who has made 178 senior appearances since moving to Vale Park from Everton in June 2003, is "thoroughly enjoying" the leadership role.

GEORGE PILKINGTON FACTFILE Born: Rugeley, 7.11.1981 Position: Defender 1998-2003: Everton 2002-2003: Exeter (loan) 2003-date: Port Vale

"Captaincy is a new experience for myself, it's my first season and I'm learning all the time," he explained.

"You take flak as captain but it's part of the role - it doesn't really bother me.

"Confidence comes into it as when you're losing, it's hard to pick yourself up, but hopefully we're getting things right now."

League One was a notoriously open division last season - and nearing the halfway stage of their 46-game campaign, Vale are five points from the play-off places, but only nine clear of the relegation zone.

"I think our league position has been a fair reflection of the season," said Pilkington.

"Over the Christmas period, gaps may open up but the table is still quite tight and we need to keep getting the wins as you can soon slip down.

"If we can win our next two home matches before Christmas against Brentford and Brighton, we'll be flying again but there's still a lot of work to do."

If Leon moves onwards and upwards, all the best to him George Pilkington on 16-goal top scorer Leon Constantine

With the January transfer window approaching, Vale fans may be concerned by the headlines made by 16-goal top scorer Leon Constantine this season.

However, his skipper Pilkington is realistic enough to be aware that for a club of Vale's size, having to sell your best players is a regular hurdle to overcome.

"Leon had a great game against Bournemouth and took his goals well but if he moves onwards and upwards, all the best to him," he added.

"We've lost a lot of influential and experienced players over the last couple of years - like Steve Brooker, Billy Paynter, Sam Collins, Micky Cummins and Chris Birchall.

"But we've bounced back from that, the manager's brought in some good players and we're starting to knit together.

"We're very much a selling club as we haven't got the funds to go out and buy players but we just have to try to do well with what we've got.

"There are very few spending clubs in this division with money behind them like Forest, Swansea and Doncaster.

"Our manager has one of the hardest jobs in the division but he does very well with what he is given."