Brady arrival a 'clean slate' for everyone - Gauci

Port Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci says the arrival of Jon Brady as manager is being seen by the squad as a "clean slate" heading into the second half of their fight against relegation from League One.

Vale have won back-to-back games since the departure of Darren Moore at the end of December, with Friday's FA Cup third-round win over Fleetwood the first of Brady's tenure.

The game saw Gauci, who is on loan from Aston Villa, given his first outing in more than a month as Vale secured a 1-0 win and a fourth-round tie at home against Championship side Bristol City.

"Every player wants to play," the Australian told BBC Radio Stoke. "I haven't been in the team for a month or so which, for any player, is difficult. I hope it continues and I can build some momentum."

Vale have a further chance for cup success on Tuesday with their last-16 tie against Bolton Wanderers in the Vertu Trophy, but their main focus is trying to close the worrying 11-point gap to safety over the remaining 23 games of the season.

And Gauci said former Northampton Town boss Brady has already made an impact.

"It's been really good since the gaffer's come in.

"The messaging has been clear. We haven't had much time time to work on things but hopefully we've shown some glimpses of the style of football he wants to play - being really connected.

"I think it's been really good for everyone and we want to build on the performance [against Fleetwood].

He added: "As a group, we're looking at this as a clean slate. - a change of management style, of tactics.

"I don't want to say it's a completely fresh start because it's not, but we know what the job is ahead of us.

"We're all 100% committed to getting us to safety and keeping us in League One. Results are the most important thing for us now."