Vale will continue to 'break down the mountain'

Port Vale manager Jon Brady says they will continue to "break down the mountain" they face to stay in League One after suffering a "body blow" of a late defeat on Tuesday against AFC Wimbledon.

Callum Maycock's 88th minute goal gave Wimbledon a 1-0 victory at Vale Park as the home side failed to close the 10-point gap to the safety line and stayed nine points adrift of next-to-bottom side Northampton Town.

After back-to-back defeats in his first two league games in charge, Brady picked up his first win at Leyton Orient last Saturday.

And Vale had look set for a point against Wimbledon before Maycock's late intervention.

"To conceded at the end and to not defend the width of our goal was not good enough," Brady told BBC Radio Stoke.

"The mentality to keep going to the end and do what you've done all game - it's frustrating but we've got to get it right. It's a body blow."

Deapite the double-digit deficit to 20th-placed Wigan, Vale do have games in hand on the other three teams in the relegation zone.

They have played two fewer than Burton Albion, who are the visitors on Saturday in another vital game.

"For everyone on the outside, and inside, it seems like a mountatin to climb [to stay up]," Brady said.

"You're breaking that mountain down into smaller chunks. We've just got to make sure we win on Saturday and start the next set [of games] strong.

"We're trying to break that down and work on the psychology side of things and we have to put in a performance against Burton to win.

"We've got to have full belief."

Vale should have transfer-window recruit Andre Gray available to make his debut against The Brewers following his recent departure from Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk.

Brady is hoping the 34-year-old, who has scored more than 150 goals in his career, can provide a much-needed cutting edge to an attack that has scored only 20 in 27 games.

"He's a goalscorer and we need that at the moment," Brady said.

"We're the lowest scorers in the league and, at the moment, someone like Andre to come in and be clinical would be great.

"The defence needs a break too. When was the last time in the league we were 2-0 up and your defenders can breath a sigh of relief that we are in control of the game rather than being on a knife edge?

"You've got to back your ability and that's the message we're trying to instil in the group. I won't give up on this."