Geoff Horsfield joined Port Vale as assistant to Micky Adams in 2009

Port Vale assistant manager Geoff Horsfield has opened the door for some of the club's fringe players to force their way into the starting line-up.

Vale have slipped out of the play-off places in League Two after a run of one win in their last eight matches.

Louis Dodds, Sean Rigg and Lewis Haldane all started for the reserves in a 1-0 defeat to Bradford on Tuesday.

"We'll pick a team to go and try to beat Torquay [on Saturday]," Horsfield told BBC Radio Stoke.

"You've got to perform to the best of your ability. If you don't perform and the lads perform in the reserves, they've always got a chance of playing.

"We're going to let individuals down and they've got to accept that.

"If you're not having the best of times, you're going to get left out of the side and that's football."

Chris Martin, Ritchie Sutton and Sam Morsy also played for the reserves against Bradford.

A 1-1 draw against Southend on Saturday means Vale are three points from the play-off places.

"We've got the ability and that's the most frustrating thing for myself and [caretaker manager] Mark Grew," continued Horsfield.

"We've got five games left, we've got to be confident and wear the shirt with pride."

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