Port Vale aim to hang on to top goalscorer Richards

Port Vale Chairman Bill Bratt says new contract talks have begun with several players

Port Vale believe top scorer Marc Richards will still be at Vale Park next season.

Richards, who has already scored 20 goals this season, is out of contract this summer but says he wants to stay with the Valiants.

Chairman Bill Bratt told BBC Radio Stoke: "He's done well for us this season and I hope he can do even better for us next season."

The 27-year-old joined Port Vale from Barnsley in 2007.

He has scored 36 goals in 114 appearances.

Vale are currently in tenth place in the League Two table, five points off the top seven. A third win in a row on Saturday at home to Aldershot could reduce that gap to just two points.

However despite a maximum six points out of six over the Easter weekend, Bratt is playing down the club's play-off chances:

"Easter was a good time for us, but the odds are still against us," he said. "To be honest we have win five of our last six games, and that is a big ask."

Manager Micky Adams has only two injury concerns for the visit of Aldershot. Assistant player -manager Geoff Horsfield has a calf injury and midfielder David Howland is struggling with a knee problem.