Lewis Haldane admits Port Vale are lacking confidence

Haldane joined Port Vale from Bristol Rovers in September 2009

Lewis Haldane has admitted Port Vale are lacking confidence after losing four of their last five matches.

Vale led League Two for earlier in the campaign but are now lying two points adrift of third placed Rotherham.

"The boys are disappointed and we all need to put it right," the 25-year-old forward told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We know we're good enough players to put it right. I think we've lost a little bit of confidence but one win will make us confident again."

Haldane continued: "We're still in fourth position, which is a good position in the league. We would have taken that at the start of the season.

We need to get a win first and foremost and hopefully I can keep my place in the team Lewis Haldane

"If we put two or three wins together, we'll be back into the top three."

The former Bristol Rovers man made only his third start of the season in the 2-1 defeat at Crewe on Saturday.

He did not make a first-team appearance until 6 November after an insect bite during pre-season training became infected.

Haldane was forced to spend over a fortnight in hospital and took over three months to return to full fitness.

"I feel like I'm getting sharper with every game I play," he continued. "I've only played 300 minutes since I've been back so I haven't had that much game time.

"I've been working really hard in training to get fit and I feel like it's coming back.

"I'm just disappointed the team lost. We need to get a win first and foremost and hopefully I can keep my place in the team."

Jim Gannon's side host Cheltenham on Saturday, with the new manager still searching for his first win in charge of the Valiants.