'Cup games a wonderful distraction' - Moore

Port Vale boss Darren Moore believes the cup competitions have been a "wonderful distraction" from their league struggles this season.

The Valiants are bottom of League One with just three wins from their 18 matches and have gone eight matches without a league victory.

That is in stark contrast to their form in the cup format, where they have won seven of their nine matches and lost just one knock-out tie - to Premier League leaders Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.

A 5-0 thrashing of Barnsley last Tuesday put them in the third round of the EFL Trophy before they edged past Bristol Rovers on Saturday to reach the FA Cup third round.

"The cup competitions this year we've taken really seriously and they've been good for us," Moore told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I think the cup games serve as a wonderful distraction away from the league. You can look forward to the cup competitions and now we're all looking forward to Monday night and the [FA Cup] draw. All the big boys come into it now and Vale are in the third round.

"It's that morale boost and confidence, not just for the players but for all the supporters and everyone connected with Vale."

Moore accepts though that his team now need to convert the cup feel-good factor into league points.

Vale are three points adrift of safety, and next face a tough home clash with second-placed Bradford on Tuesday.

While the Bantams will prove a much sterner test than League Two strugglers Rovers and Barnsley's trophy squad, Moore believes the last two performances have showed greater freedom from his players.

"That will be the acid test," he added. "We've tweaked the shape but within that we've asked them to express themselves more, to play on the front foot more.

"The frustration that we've had is that they've not really been expressing themselves. It's almost like taking the handbrake off - 'you're footballers, go out there and play all out', and I think slowly but surely they're showing that."